


Caravans

by Madkat89



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Alternate Universe - Erebor Never Fell, Alternate Universe - No One Ring, Angst with a Happy Ending, Caravans, Dwarf & Hobbit Cultural Differences, Dwarf Courting, Dwarf Culture & Customs, Dwarf/Hobbit Relationship(s), Dwarven Ones | Soulmates, Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, Fem!Bilbo/Fili - Freeform, Filbo - Freeform, Filibo - Freeform, Fluff and Angst, Hobbit Culture & Customs, Moria | Khazad-dûm, Rule 63, True Love, Witches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-03-30
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:54:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 32,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23323513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Madkat89/pseuds/Madkat89
Summary: AU - What should be a simple body guarding caravan trip turns into one that is fraught with danger at every turn. Add in a gorgeous female childhood friend who's clearly in love with a certain blond dwarf. Will Bella and Fili's relationship survive or will the stress and danger simply prove to be too much?
Relationships: Bilbo Baggins/Fíli
Comments: 75
Kudos: 107





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, the world has become very stressful with all the current events. I wish you all health, healing, and peace during these times. Also, I offer you my stories as a way to step away from all the craziness for a little bit. Things are going to be ok and we are all going to be stronger because of this. Enjoy the story!

Caravans were a way of life, as was guarding them, for Belladonna Baggins. For as long as she could remember, her family had been traveling with caravans, especially the dwarven ones. Although most of the more respectable hobbits looked down on it, it fed the need for adventures in the line of Tooks and helped settle their restlessness. After the loss of her parents in the Fell Winter, it took a long time for Bella to heal and she spent all her time in the Shire, her inheritance from her father more than enough to keep her comfortable.

But the Took part of her would not remain squashed down for long and she eventually approached Gandalf about getting hired again, her old caravan and travel mates long gone. For some reason, the wizard was overly delighted with this proposition and soon came back and told her that there was an available position with the Line of Durin. She had heard of the Line of Durin, a very respectable family run business, their specialty was in guarding high risk caravans. She felt hesitant about why a fighting company would need a hobbit, but Gandalf merely pushed her worries aside.

As was not entirely unexpected, the first caravan trip did not go all that well. She was there to make up numbers and she was considered little more than a nuisance. On the other hand, she thought that they were unnecessarily aggressive and that it was no wonder that half of middle earth was out to either eat or kill them. After some intense experiences and a few near death brushes, they reached an even keel and worked things out. Gandalf had tried to take credit for it and both parties had scoffed loudly at him.

However, much to her surprise, at the end of her trial caravan run, she had been offered a full position. She had hesitated, but the thought of being separated from her friends was painful, so she went ahead and signed on. She was quickly approaching the three year mark with her current caravan and she felt quite happy about that. It was their last night of freedom before they were set to pick up the next group.

She was perched comfortably on a rock near the fire, making sure that her blades were sharp. Although it had once been foreign, the familiar ring was now soothing, the easy bickering and talking of the dwarves a comfortable background. Bella was just about to put everything away and turn in when Fili joined her. He plopped down on the same rock and nudged her shoulder. She grumbled but scooted over enough so that he could sit comfortably. She said archly, "What brings you to my corner of camp, highness?"

He grinned at her. "Wanted to see my favorite girl, of course." He gently brushed the braid hanging at her temple.

She groused, "I'm the only girl here." However, she couldn't stop her answering smile as she flicked his matching braid.

Kili catcalled from across the camp and they both ignored him. Sliding her last dagger away and tucking her whetstone into her pocket, she sighed and leaned her head against his shoulder. His arm slipped around her waist and he tugged her closer. She yawned and asked, "Ready for tomorrow?"

He nodded, "Yeah, it should be a fairly simple job, routine, no problems."

She squinted up at him, "Didn't you say that about the first caravan? Are you trying to jinx us?"

He laughed at that, deep rolling laughter. She tried to scowl, but another yawn interrupted it and she gave up the attempt. Instead, she let more of her weight rest on him, enjoying the warmth that he radiated. He finally composed himself and said, "Don't worry, amralime, nothing's going to happen. Trust me."

She muttered, finding it hard to form the words as drowsiness washed over her, "I do, with my life. But sometimes your judgement, not so much."

He put on a mock hurt expression, "Whatever do you mean, love?"

She said teasingly, "One word. Trolls."

He winced at that. "You promised..."

She said laughingly, "I promised that I wouldn't bring it up to anyone else. I however, made no promise about not bringing it up to you."

He pouted, "Mean, cruel little hobbit."

She stretched up and kissed his cheek before settling back into his side. "Ah, but you love me anyway."

He smiled tenderly at her and pressed his forehead briefly to hers. "Aye, that I do, although Mahal only knows why with the way that you're mean to me."

She whispered, her eyes sparkling wickedly, "That's because when I hurt you, I kiss it better."

His eyes heated up and he hissed, "Bella!"

Standing, she yawned exaggeratedly, "Well, I'd better get to bed, big day tomorrow and all of that. Love you, get some rest."

His expression was mutinous and silently promised retribution, but she couldn't quell her internal laughter. It was good to keep him on his toes occasionally. She made her way to her bedroll, winking at Kili as she passed him and he laughed, passing her to go talk to Fili who was trying to bore holes into the back of her head with his stare. She walked on, unconcerned. 

Soon she was tucked snugly into her bedroll, her heart light and her sleep untroubled. If she'd only known how things were going to change, she doubted that she would've been so unconcerned. She probably would've clung to Fili and kissed him until they were both senseless. She would've spent the entire night talking and laughing with the company. And she would've etched all into her heart so that she could remember it when times got tough. As it was, all she was left with was regret and it tasted bitter.


	2. Don't play with Mala

The easy laughter and teasing of just weeks earlier was long gone. Glancing across the camp where they had stopped for lunch, she absently fingered her braid. She would've said that there was nothing that could get between her and Fili, but now she was starting to wonder. It had been days since they'd been able to hold even a simple conversation. Every time they spoke, that female would find a reason to break it up, needing this or that or the other. Bella was really starting to get frustrated. She wasn't jealous by nature, she really wasn't, but it seemed like every day it got harder and harder to keep that unwanted emotion away. It had gotten to the point where Kili found it necessary to reassure her that it wasn't anything personal, that Fili was just doing his best to protect a high priority target. Kili, of all people. That little conversation had left her with an interesting mix of emotions. Embarrassment, warmth the he cared for her, concern, jealousy, and yes, even a hint of concern. If Kili could see it so clearly, why couldn't Fili see what a knot this mess was twisting her into? If Thorin or Dwalin started shooting her sympathetic glances next, she might just have to off herself.

Seeing Fili and Rina once again in deep conversation, Bella abruptly dropped the remaining pieces of jerky (her lunch, yay) back into it's pouch and tied it back onto her belt. Standing, she stretched and looked around surreptitiously. No one seemed to be watching her, so she decided to go for a short walk and clear her head. Maybe if she could just get a bit of space, things wouldn't seem so overwhelming. As she exited the camp, she nodded briefly to Dwalin and made the sign for walk and soon. That way he knew that she was just going for a brief walk and not running away. Also that and if she wasn't back in a reasonable amount of time, he would go looking for her. That was a reassuring thought and she smiled slightly as she realized yet again how much she had come to trust and rely on the burly dwarf. Dwalin nodded his acceptance, turning his attention back to the rest of the caravan.

Slipping away into the pines, she breathed deeply, allowing their clean scent and gentle rustling of their needles to soothe her frazzled state. Away from the others, it was almost like she could feel a physical burden slip off her shoulders. It wasn't that she didn't trust Fili implicitly, she did, she really did. But sometimes, it was so hard to believe that he had actually chosen her, that he loved her. She had been unwanted and unloved for so long and sometimes it was so easy to slip back into that mindset. It also didn't help that Rina was apparently the epitome of dwarven beauty, a fearless fighter (although Bella had yet to see her even practice or spar, something that ALL of the other dwarves did), wealthy, and a childhood friend of the Durins. Not to mention the fact that she was in trouble, something that strangely attracted males for some reason. Nothing more alluring then a beautiful, wealthy, familiar damsel who was in danger but was strong enough to save herself or to at least hold the bad guys at bay long enough for the cavalry to arrive.

Bella firmly crumpled up those thoughts and mentally tossed them over her shoulder. Fili had said that he loved her no matter what and that she was just being foolish when she had mentioned her insecurities to him. That he thought that she was the most beautiful creature to walk the earth and that he was madly in love with her. Plus, she wore his courtship braid and he wore hers. She was being foolish and if she wasn't careful, it would soon affect her ability to be an effective member of the company. Besides, this trip couldn't last forever and things would soon go back to the way that they were. 

The thought put a big smile on her face and she wandered aimlessly, dreaming about moving from courtship braids to betrothal braids and eventually marriage ones. Because of this, she wasn't paying as close of attention to her surroundings and managed to stumble right into trouble. Four of them, Mala, the evil warped giant bug thingies. She swallowed hard, reaching slowly for her weapons. Maybe she could back away quietly and escape? Nope, that was the moment that they all swiveled their heads to look at her, their dim intellect and extreme malice shining through clearly. The only chance was to fight. Even if she screamed for help, there was no chance that anyone would hear her or be able to reach her in time. No, her only option was to fight and if she were losing, then she would scream to warn them. She needed them to believe that they were alone out here, so that they wouldn't head for the caravan and it's big fat target. Ok, so she was probably being uncharitable calling Rina fat, but it looked likely that Bella would be dying in the next few moments, so she was allowed a bit of cattiness. She just wished that she'd gotten to kiss Fili first, but that was life. It sucked and then you died.

Unsheathing her duel blades, she twirled them once to loosen her wrists and then she was out of time and the battle was engaged. Later, she would never be able to say how she didn't die in the first few moments. Well, the fact that their superior numbers worked against them when trying to corner a small target was a plus in her favor, one that she exploited with all of her cunning. She had managed to take down two when her luck ran out and one caught her with it's claws on her calves, the pain slicing brutally through her and forcing her to drop one of her swords as she froze. But all of the training that she had done with Dwalin kicked in and she swung a backward chop with her main sword, managing to decapitate the creature that had wounded her. Diving for her sword, she rolled to her feet and turned to face her final opponent. Only to find that Dwalin had gotten there first and flattened it with a war hammer. 

Breathing hard, she only allowed her swords to drop to half guard as she scanned for any more threats surrounding them. Dwalin was unconcerned, sliding the hammer back through the loop of his belt and examining the battle scene. Satisfied that they weren't about to get jumped by more monsters, she flicked the excess gore off her blades before quickly wiping them clean and sheathing them. Once she was satisfied that her weapons were handled and that the fight was indeed over, she started to shake, the leftover adrenaline and certainty that she had been about to die and die horribly making itself known. 

Gritting her teeth, she settled on ignoring it in the hopes that it would go away. Feeling blood slip down the back of her right leg, it felt like the left was only scratched, she dug about her belt pouches for a bandage. It took three tries but she finally managed to pull it loose. Spotting a convenient tree stump, she sat and pulled up her breeches leg to examine the damage. Thankfully it didn't look that serious that it would cause her serious pain, although it was deep enough that she would definitely be talking to Oin before the day was out. Slathering on a numbing salve that would stop the bleeding, she wrapped the bandage firmly around it before peeking and confirming that the left leg was just scratched and didn't need any tending.

His examination done, Dwalin nodded at the supplies that she was putting away. He demanded, "How bad?"

"I'm still able to move and fight, but I'll see Oin before I go to bed tonight. Were they waiting to ambush our caravan?"

He shrugged, seeming to accept her assessment of her wounds. "I think that they just happened to be in the neighborhood. Bad timing is all, for all around."

She frowned at Dwalin, getting gingerly to her feet. "Why are you even out here? I haven't been gone all that long."

Dwalin grunted, "Her highness is apparently desperate for a real bed, so Fili talked to Thorin who agreed to push for the nearest inn. I came to fetch you, but they're heading out and we'll have to catch up, which we should be able to do easily. It's a good thing I did too, you were in over your head. Why didn't you yell for help?"

She sighed, her shakes finally starting to ease. "I should be dead, I know. As a matter of fact, I don't know how I'm even alive. I'm a paired fighter. You know that and I know that. As for why I didn't call for help? In the case that they were specifically scouting for our caravan, I didn't want people rushing to my aid only to have it ambushed while the fighters were on the move. Pretty stupid, huh?" Her shoulders drooped as she admitted that and she started walking. Of course the princess wanted a soft bed and they were indulging her. Bella bitterly hoped that she was paying them a fortune for the amount of coddling she got. And it stung that they hadn't bothered to wait two minutes for Bella to return before heading out. Would it really have killed them? She half suspected that Rina had seen her leave and had pushed for a quick departure in the hopes of leaving Bella behind. Bella sighed, but that would require her to be aware of something outside of her own little Rina world and that was just unlikely.

Dwalin fell into step with her, his gait easy. Bella was just glad that the numbing agent worked quickly, otherwise this exercise might have been excruciating. His gaze alert but calm, Dwalin said firmly, "Doesn't matter. You are part of this caravan, you are family. If you'd been seriously hurt or killed, it would've hurt us much more than fighting off an attack. I thought that you would know better by now."

She fidgeted with the handle of her throwing knife. "I know that, but things have been so tense, what with Rina under threat and everything. It's just been a lot of pressure on everyone and I didn't think clearly. It won't happen again."

He grunted, "Better not, otherwise I'm telling the entire company exactly what happened and what stupidity you tried to pull."

She whined, "Dwalin."

He grinned, but it was fierce and not amused. "Bella. By all right's I should tell them immediately, but everyone's entitled to one mistake. Don't think I won't be watching you extra close though."

She sighed but something eased within her and warmth moved through her. She reached out and squeezed his arm companionably before letting go and moving her pace into an easy trot. The sooner they reached the caravan, the sooner she could trade with a driver and get off her bad leg. Thankfully they managed to catch up in just a few minutes. Bella could've almost sworn that there was viciously disappointed look on Rina's face, but it was there and gone so quickly that she couldn't really be sure. She traded with Kili who was eager to not drive and settled herself in for a long afternoon. The nearest inn was still a good distance away, so they would have to push hard to make it there before nightfall. 

She frowned as she thought about the inn. It was a fairly busy inn, which meant that security would be a nightmare. And as the only other female in the party, she would most likely be required to room with Rina for security and protection. She wanted to groan, but she shoved it ruthlessly down. She was a professional and this was a job just like any other. She would do her best to keep the client alive and unharmed, even if she didn't like the manipulative dam one little bit. She just wouldn't let her get under her skin. Reaching up and touching her braid for the twelfth time that day, not that she was counting, she prayed for the journey's end to come as soon as possible. Usually she enjoyed getting to know that clients and was always a little sad to see them leave, but she would be ecstatic to see the last of Rina, no doubt about it.

They pushed on past dark to reach the inn and Bella was deeply relieved to see it. She should've gone to Oin right away after the fight, but she hadn't and her leg felt like it was on fire now. She dismounted stiffly and did her best not to limp as she untethered the horses and tended them, making sure that they were stabled properly. Bofur and Kili helped her out while the rest of the caravan made their way inside. Dwalin gave her a concerned glance, but she waved him on, knowing that he would want to scope out the place as quickly as possible for any threats or dangers. He gave her a serious look and a warning glance, she rolled her eyes but nodded her acknowledgement. He then made his way inside. 

Kili walked past leading a pair of horses and asked, "What was that all about?"

She shrugged, "Got a bit scraped up on my walk earlier. He just wants to make sure that I see Oin about it. That's all."

Kili frowned at her, Dwalin didn't fret over minor things, although he was more protective of Bella. He shrugged and let it go, although he did his best to do what he could to make the stabling up easier for her. She noticed his efforts and gave him a smile.

They entered the inn in record time and quietly made their way over to where the rest of the company was gathered, their table loud and boisterous. She noticed that Rina was holding court and ignored it, ignored the fact that there was no seat held for her by Fili as there used to be. Instead, she made her way down to the open chair between Gloin and Balin. She just picked at her dinner, the pain robbing her of her appetite. She saw the dwarves around her giving her worried glances, then looking at the other end of the table where Rina was, obviously believing that her lack of appetite was the dam's fault. However, the pain and nausea kept her from eating for appearance's sake and kept her from trying to futilely explain that it was just an upset stomach and not heartbreak.

She saw Fili glance at her and frown a few times, but she couldn't muster up the energy to smile or do anything besides stare blankly at the table. Finally the meal was over and the party split up to take advantage of the soft beds that they had pushed so hard for. Bella quietly asked Gloin to watch over Rina while she talked with his brother. As a married dwarf, there would be no hint of impropriety, especially as everyone knew that Gloin was stupidly in love with his wife. Bella had met the dam a couple of times and had to admit that she really was something special.

Gloin nodded agreeably enough and directed her to his and his brother's room. She nodded gratefully and limped up the stairs, the pain too great to even attempt to pretend that it didn't hurt. She pounded on the door, knowing that Oin wouldn't hear otherwise. He opened it irritably, the expression easing when he saw who was standing there. "Ah lass, come in. Dwalin mentioned that you needed some first aid, possibly stitches."

Of course, Fili just happened to be walking nearby at that moment and Oin's voice was anything but quiet. Fili roared, "What?!"

He was suddenly right there beside her, scanning her frantically for any damage. "Bella, what is he talking about? Where are you hurt? When were you hurt? Why didn't you tell me about it?"

She sighed, beginning to feel the onset of what would be a massive headache if she didn't take something for it. "Fili, I'm fine. It's nothing serious but it does hurt. It's merely some scratches." She turned her leg enough so he could see the tears in her trousers, having not had the chance to change since it happened. He sucked in a breath and dropped to his knees, reaching for it. She took a step back, moving it out of range. "Not out here, for pity's sake. Come in and you can watch. And I didn't tell you because I knew that you would overreact." A small, snarky part of her added in her head, besides, you didn't even seem to notice I was gone and had no problem moving out without me.

His eyes were blue flames filled with concern and worry. He quickly rose to his feet and ushered her into the room, frowning when he realized that she was limping. He quickly urged her to sit on the edge of the bed while Oin fetched his kit. Fili's hands were gentle as he rolled up her pant leg to above her knee. He hissed when he saw the scratches that were bright red and inflamed. He could feel the heat radiating off of it without touching it.

He exclaimed, "I thought that you said that it was just a scratch."

She bent over to examine it, "It was just a scratch, just ask Dwalin. He killed the fourth one and he saw the wound. If he'd thought that it was serious, he would've told me to go to Oin right away." She frowned and poked at it, wincing when it stung.

He gently caught her hand and drew it away. "Don't do that." He rose and moved to sit on her other side so that he was out of Oin's way. He took her hand gently in his, but his voice was deadly serious, his crown prince voice as she liked to call it. "Now, tell me about what this fourth thing that Dwalin killed was, what apparently happened to the other three, and why you didn't tell me immediately that you were hurt."

She sighed, trying to sort through her feelings and words, trying to find the way to seem calm and collected. Finally she had them sorted into a semblance of order and was about to speak when Oin lanced the first wound. She hissed and gripped Fili's hand hard but didn't flinch or otherwise move. Fili frowned but didn't protest, simply arranged his hand so that she could grip it easier and scooted a little bit closer so that she could lean on him if she wanted.

Resolutely ignoring both the pain and Oin, she didn't lean on Fili, needing to be strong enough to face this on her own. The past several weeks had shown clearly that he wouldn't always be there for her to rely on. Drawing a deep breath, she tried again. "It was so beautiful today that I decided to go for a walk after lunch. Dwalin saw me go and indicated that if I wasn't back shortly, he would come in search of me. I wandered a little farther than I meant to and I accidentally stumbled upon four Mala."

Both Fili and Oin cursed at this and Oin rummaged for something different in his bag in light of this new information.

She nodded, her face passive. "I was unsure whether it was just bad luck or if they were actively targeting the caravan, so I decided upon immediate action."

Fili's expression immediately turned intent and dangerous, his voice dropping an octave. "And just what, precisely, do you mean by immediate action?"

She shrugged nonchalantly, "I drew my swords and tried not to die. Their superior numbers worked against them and they kept getting into each others way, so I was able to take out two of them. The third one is the one what scratched me before I managed to decapitate it. Of course, it hurt when it scratched me, so I dropped one of my swords. I rolled and grabbed it, but when I regained my feet, Dwalin had already smashed the last one with his war hammer. I checked my leg and it was just scratched, so I threw some salve on it and wrapped it. Dwalin agreed with me that it would hold until this evening, but to make sure that Oin checked it out today. It definitely did not look like it does tonight. Then Dwalin told me that the company had decided to make for an inn tonight. So we caught up and that was that. Now Oin just needs to tend the wound so I can go relieve Gloin from guard duty and get some rest."

Fili's voice was so calm that she knew that he was moments away from exploding. "And at any point during this immediate action, did you call for help? Did you even think of calling for help, for me?"

She picked and discarded a dozen different explanations before finally sticking with simple and basic. "I didn't know if they were just in the woods or if they were actively targeting Rina. I also didn't know if they were the only force in the woods. So I made the decision to not compromise half of our fighters when there was a vulnerable higher priority target nearby. I knew what I was signing up for when I joined the company. The client takes priority."

Oin chose that moment to grunt. "Last one."

He didn't give her a moment to prepare but immediately lanced it. Fire flooded her veins and she squeezed Fili's hand hard, turning her head into his shoulder to muffle her groan. He coaxed quietly, "Breathe, Bella, breathe."

She fought to do as he asked and drew in a trembling breath. He brushed a strand of hair out of her face and soothed, "Good, that's good. Now another."

She bit back a whimper and he tensed underneath her but didn't move or say anything. Instead, he ran a gentle hand over her hair and hummed a familiar song, the tune soothing. Finally the treatment was over and Oin applied something that cooled the fire that was burning her leg off. By the time she could sit up straight again, Oin was wrapping her leg. He grumbled, "Next time you tangle with a Mala, come and see me immediately, a few more hours and you would've been in a really bad situation." Fili made a strangled noise and his hands clenched into fists, they both ignored him. "Change the bandages morning and night, limit your walking as much as possible, and see me again in three days and I'll recheck it."

She stood and gingerly tested her leg, relieved when it held her and the pain was distant. She said quietly, "Thank you, I'll do that. See you in the morning."

Fili nodded curtly and walked out with her. He waited until Oin had closed his door until whirling to face Bella. He gently lifted her chin to meet his eyes that were flame blue. His voice was deep and intense as he said, "No client, no ONE, is more important than you to me." With that, he let her go and stormed away.

She watched him go, weary and heart aching. With a sigh, she turned in the opposite direction and made her way to the room that she was sharing with Rina. She knew that there was no reasoning with him when he was in a mood and that it was better to just leave him alone and let him come to her when he was ready. She quickly reached her room and entered, thanking Gloin for keeping Rina company while she was busy. Gloin just grinned and told her goodnight.

Rina started to whine about being left alone with Gloin and his stories for the millionth time and Bella only half listened, making the right noises at the right times. She pulled out her swords and went over them carefully, oiling every inch of them and making sure that they were completely clean of any residue from the earlier fight. Then she double checked that the sheathes were cleaned as well. Once she was satisfied that she had gotten absolutely every speck, she blew out the oil lamp and allowed herself to settle into a light doze. Rina tried to sneak out three times and Bella stopped her each time, the dam growing more and more irate with every foiled plan. Finally she seemed to realize that Bella wasn't going to let her sneak around unguarded and her business was such as required solitude or at least no prying eyes. She settled back onto her bed and sulked until she fell asleep, her snores loud enough to rattle the rafters. They were obviously fake at first of course, she knew faunts that could fake sleep better, but then they relaxed into the real thing. Bella let out a quiet sigh of relief and dozed for what was left of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One - Rina is not a princess, that's just the caravan members nickname where she acts so snooty and spoiled  
> Two - A paired fighter is someone who always fights with someone else. Bella is a support fighter for any other dwarf in the caravan, as she is familiar with all of their fighting styles, but is too much a tempting target if she fights alone.  
> Three - I totally made up most of the stuff in this, including Mala, which are like giant evil praying mantis's in my mind for some reason.
> 
> Disclaimer: All of this belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien, I just think that he has really cool stuff and characters, so I like to come over and play in their sandbox :)


	3. Long Overdue Talks

Bella was up at dawn the next morning, taking advantage of the peacefulness of the dam sleeping to go over the contents of her pack, to do the little bit of mending that had accumulated and check all of her herbs and medical supplies to make sure that none of it was running low. She frowned as she found that she was running low on a few herbs that she couldn't remember using. That and one of her spare shirts was missing. She puzzled over it for several minutes before shrugging and letting it go. She knew that none of the company would go through her things and she had been so tired and absentminded lately that she had probably just mislaid it. She'd just talk to Oin and get the herbs refilled and that was that. Neatly repacking her bag, she had just finished when Rina woke up.

The dam gritched and grumbled but finally they were able to leave the room and head down to join the common room for breakfast. Bella's stomach was grumbling loudly at this point and Rina was making snide comments under her breath just loud enough for Bella to hear, but Bella kept her composure and kept her expression pleasant. She remembered the promise that she had made herself yesterday to treat Rina like the professional that Bella knew she was and she was going to hold herself to it.

She greeted the company cheerfully, allowing Rina to chose a spot as far away as she could from Bella. Bella almost smirked, seemed like the dam resented her for keeping her from sneaking out to harass whomever it was that she had her eye on, most likely Fili. Speaking of the dwarf, she scanned the table and didn't spot him. She chose a seat next to Kili, immediately reaching out and snagging the nearest platter and loading up her plate before setting it aside and reaching for a different one. She asked quietly, "Where is he?" 

Kili passed her another platter and took the mostly empty one from her. "The question is, what's going on between the two of you? He came to the room last night and he was fit to be tied. Tossed and turned all night, was up and gone before dawn. So, what exactly did you do? Because I only see him get this worked up when it involves you." 

She sighed and said softly, "Remember I told you yesterday that I got a little scraped up yesterday during my walk?"

He passed her a cup of coffee and said cheerfully, "So I guess that it was a little more than that?"

She inhaled the aroma deeply, letting out a little satisfied sigh. "Yes, I managed to run into a few enemies."

He raised an eyebrow, "And how many is a few and exactly what kind?"

She took a big bite and chewed happily before saying succinctly, "Four. Mala."

He let out a low whistle. "By yourself. And you didn't call for backup?"

She looked at him sheepishly, "Um, yeah?"

He sighed, "Okay then, that explains why he was like a bear with a wounded paw. A. How did you survive? B. How badly were you injured? C. Do I have to tell Thorin about this?"

She answered around bites, "A. I fought hard and then Dwalin squished the last one like the bug it was. B. Oin said that if I had let it go much longer, I would've been in serious trouble. C. Judging by the glares that he is sending my way, your brother has already done the informing and your uncle and I will be having a chat, most likely a lengthy one, before the day is out. Anything else?"

He shook his head. "I think that that just about covers it. Although I have to admit, I am curious. What in the world were you thinking, not calling for backup and leaving a wound untended. You know better than that. Fili loves you deeply. Imagine how you would feel if he was in danger and he didn't call for your help, even though you were more than capable of protecting him against monsters. Then suppose that he was hurt and didn't bother to tell you until it was a close possibility that he would lose his leg, possibly even endangered his life. And why, because of some client that will be gone from your lives in just another few weeks. That for some reason beyond understanding, you were willing to throw away your life, your entire future away, for nothing. Did you even stop to think or did you just court death with both swords out?"

Her eyes blazed but she kept her voice low and calm. "I messed up, I know that I did. But don't think that I just charged in blindly. I knew that by the time help arrived, everything would be over. I shouldn't have even been out there in the first place, but I was fretting over Rina hanging all over Fili and I took a walk to clear my head and remind myself that Fili loved me and chose me. Because of my carelessness, I ended up in a very bad situation and could've died. But what was I supposed to tell him. That I ran into monsters because I was too busy worrying like a tween over whether he truly loved me or if the lovely childhood friend who can fight would steal him away. That I was insecure and mistrustful that even though I am wearing his braid, that I'm still not enough and never will be. Tell me how he would feel about that?"

Kili smiled at her, his expression warm, "Oh namith, do you think that you are the only one having doubts? I can tell you that's not true. Fili was a mess trying to work up the courage to approach you. He was certain that he could never catch the eye of a lass as lovely and brave as you are. I had to listen to many, many hours of angsting from him. You hobbits with your unbraided hair are very stressful for us. We had no idea if you were available or married with a brood of children. And honestly, since you two have started courting, I have never seen him happier. But since Rina came, you've been pulling back. You don't come and sit by him or seek him out and talk to him anymore. He's worried that he's done something to offend you or that you just don't care for him. By not calling for help, by not letting him know that you were injured, that was basically saying that you'd lost faith in him. He's panicking and hurting right now, but now that we've spoken, I'm not sure that you are doing any better."

She buried her face in her hands for several seconds before taking a deep breath and straightening. "So, obviously our communication sucks. I love your brother so much that I want to be by his side for eternity, never doubt that. But neither do I want to trap him into something that he doesn't want either. And the reason that I've stopped approaching Fili? Every time I do, Rina finds a reason to separate us. Watch if you don't believe me. I don't want to appear like a jealous shrew or that I own Fili, so I've chosen to back off until this trip is over. But we still have weeks yet to go and my heart is breaking. How long do you think it will take Fili to calm down enough to talk to me?"

He reached out and gently squeezed her shoulder, "It'll be all right, just be honest with him, tell him what you've told me. And he'll talk to you today. He doesn't hide from conversations. He just needed some space last night so that he didn't say something in anger that he didn't really mean. He's like that, taking care of those he cares for, even from himself at times."

She smirked at him, "You don't have to sell your brother's good points to me, I already adore him, faults and all. And for some crazy reason, your brother wants me as well. After our talk today, if everything is still good between us, I'm going to fight for him, for us."

Kili smirked back at her and tried to swipe a piece of bacon of her plate, but she moved her plate just enough that he missed and rapped his fingers. He rolled his eyes but left her bacon alone. Satisfied that the conversation was over and determined to set things right, she started eating with gusto, knowing that she would need all the energy that she could muster. She glanced around a couple of times to find Rina watching her and Kili with a satisfied expression and a disturbing glint in her eyes, but dismissed it. Right now, she needed to focus on mending things between herself and Fili, the rest of the company would have to take care of Rina for the day.

Soon breakfast was over and it was time to move out. Bella was starting to worry where she hadn't seen Fili yet. However, he was there in the courtyard of the inn, finishing saddling the ponies and making sure that the wagons were hitched properly. She carefully stowed her pack into one of the wagons, Kili walking patiently with her, her gait slower than normal.

She turned to find Fili standing right behind her. He told Kili curtly, "You're in charge of Rina today. And I need you to help hand Bella up to me."

He grabbed Bella's hand and pulled her gently along over to where his pony was waiting, Kili trailing behind them. Letting go of Bella, he quickly mounted up and turned to face Kili and Bella. Kili carefully picked her up and handed her to Fili, who settled her sideways in front of him, making sure that her injured leg wouldn't be jostled. Bella smiled and nodded to Kili, who saluted and walked away, a smile lurking on his face.

He didn't speak and she just settled more comfortably against him, letting out a pleased sigh when she finally found a position that was just right. He relaxed fractionally at this, his arms reaching around her to grab the reins. Thorin gave the signal to move out and Fili nudged his pony into motion. They rode in silence for several minutes, just allowing the landscape to pass by and ignoring the chatter of the other caravan members.

Finally she said quietly, "This is nice. I've missed spending time with you, just being with you." A subtle tension both left him and entered him and she knew that Kili had been right about Fili's worries. She reached up and ran her hand over his hair before gently tugging his courting braid. "I love you, Fili, never doubt that. However, it seems like our communication has been somewhat lacking of late."

He swallowed hard, finally looking down and meeting her eyes. "You've been so distant lately. I've been worried that I've done something wrong or that you had changed your mind and just didn't know how to tell me."

Oh, her foolish, wonderful dwarf. She'd been so busy dealing with her own insecurities that she hadn't even noticed that he was struggling as well. She reached up and cupped his face, stroking her thumb over his cheekbone and he leaned into her touch. "Neither of those, love. I've just been dealing with some things in my own mind and I didn't want to appear childish or like I didn't trust you."

He frowned at her confused. "What do you mean?"

She sighed, "I know that I've told you about my family and the way that they treated me." He nodded, scowling. "I recently discovered that I still have some insecurities that I wasn't aware of."

It was his turn to sigh and he brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. "And what triggered it, Bella?"

She still didn't want to admit it, knowing full well how petty it would make her seem. But she couldn't let things remain how they were either. Drawing her hand back, she looked down at her lap and muttered, "Rina."

He had leaned in close to hear and it took him a moment to puzzle out what she said. Confusion crossed his face, "Why would Rina trigger your insecurities?"

She sighed and patiently reminded herself that he was a male and thus wouldn't understand the delicate dominance games that women would play. She decided to try another tact. "When you see Rina, what do you think?"

Instead of blowing her off or giving a quick response, he really thought about her question and she appreciated it. Finally he said, "An old friend. A client."

She prompted, "Anything else?"

He shook his head, "No. Why?"

"When I look at her, I see a dam instead of a hobbit lass that's a misfit. I see a beautiful woman who can fight and defend herself, who doesn't have to be protected. I see a woman who shares a history with you, not a romantic one per se, but one where she understands references without having to have a detailed explanation. Also, where she's a dwarf, she understands all the cultural things that I don't get. It makes me wonder at times why you chose me instead of someone like her. But I didn't want you to think that I thought that you were fickle or shallow. You are the most honorable dwarf I know, but I worry that you tied yourself to me and now when presented with someone that suits you better, you will just stay with me because you said so."

He slipped his hand under her chin and lifted her face, resting his forehead against hers, a slight smile on his face. "Oh Bella, so many worries between us. Why did you try to keep it all inside?"

"You have enough worries without me adding to them. You are helping to lead the caravan, protect the caravan members, and care for the client's many needs. The last thing that you need is to have to hold my hand and coddle me like a needy child."

He smirked at her, "What if I like coddling you?"

She rolled her eyes at him, "You know what I mean."

He quickly scanned their surroundings for threats, the action unconscious and built from years of vigilance and travel, before refocusing on her. "I do. And I really appreciate you trying not to burden me. But there's something that you must understand. The caravan, the clients, none of those are more important to me than you. I would walk away from all of that without even thinking about it for you. I would even walk away from my kin for you."

She frowned at him and protested, "Fili."He shook his head, "I'm not saying that it wouldn't hurt or that I wouldn't miss them, but for me, it would be worthwhile trade. You are my future, but more than that, you are my heart."

Well, what could she do but reach up and steal a kiss. She had just meant for it to be a quick kiss, but he clearly had other ideas. It was a sweet kiss, one of love and reaffirmation. She was just reaching up to wrap her arms around his neck when Kili rode by and catcalled, "Get a room!"

Fili shot him an obscene gesture and went to kiss her again, but a spate of giggles overwhelmed her and she buried her face into his chest, her laughter overwhelming her. She knew that her laughter was an overreaction, but it was a release of overwhelming emotions and she let herself laugh, letting it all out. If a few tears leaked out, well, she wasn't going to tell anyone and she knew that Fili wouldn't either.

Finally the giggles died away but she kept her face buried in his chest, inhaling his scent. It was soothing and she felt the bands around her heart ease, the rhythm settling and matching Fili's. She muttered, "Are you sure that you'd miss Kili and how he interrupts us every single time we try to kiss?"

He laughed at that, the sound rumbling through her and making her feel all warm and mushy inside. This gave her the strength to bring her face out of his chest and she blinked in the brightness. She looked up at him and saw that his face was brighter than if had been in weeks. She felt much better from being near him as well. Speaking of which. "We've talked about what was bothering me. Let's talk about what's bothering you now."

He smiled down at her, "We don't have to do that."

She wrinkled her nose at him, "Yes, we do. We've both been upset and hurting. Not anymore. You carry so much, Fili, let me help you with this."

His smile turned tender, "You already do that, Bella. So, so much."

She flicked his nose lightly, "None of that. Your troubles, sir, this moment."

He laughed. "All right, all right, you win." He turned serious and gathered his thoughts, his arms tightening unconsciously around her, tucking her closer to him. She rested her head on his shoulder and let him think.

When he spoke, his voice was deep and rather husky and she had to suppress a shiver. "You've been distant and I've been worried that you were changing your mind about us. I didn't know why you were drawing back and I thought that maybe I had done something to offend you."

She scoffed at that, "What could you have possibly done to offend me?"

His eyes were puzzled, "I don't know, I couldn't think of anything and you've always talked to me about anything that bothered you or that you didn't understand, so I had no idea. It was driving me insane, just ask Kili."

She singsonged, "We're abandoning Kili to the wolves, remember? That way we might actually be able to get a single kiss in peace."

He said heatedly, "He's not around now."

She said drily, "He's got a sixth sense about it. Problems now."

Kili rode back by that moment grinning merrily at them and she nodded at him. She turned back to Fili and arched a brow as if to say, see?

He sighed, his expression resigned. "Remind me to dunk him in the next stream that we come across."

She smiled at him, "How about this, a secret for a secret."

His eyes lit up at that. "All right."

"Good, you go first."

He smiled down at her and his expression turned soft. "When you opened the door for the first time, I thought that you were the prettiest lass that I'd ever seen."

She frowned at him and pouted, "Fili, you already told me that."

He grinned and tapped the tip of her nose gently, "Ah, but I was so befuddled by your beauty that I initiated courtship right then and there. Imagine how crestfallen I was when I found my weapons tossed aside. It might've been behind my mischief with the plate. Well, that and I wanted to get you to look at me."

She arched a brow questioningly, her expression puzzled, "I don't understand. That first night was so puzzling and overwhelming."

He grinned at her, causing her heart to jump, "In dwarven courtship, giving a person your weapons is a sign of interest and wish to initiate courtship."

She giggled at that. "I had wondered what in the world you were doing giving me your weapons. And there were so many of them. Alright, here's mine. When I opened the door, I thought you were the most handsome man that I had ever seen and I was so flustered that I barely knew what I was saying and that's why I tried to shut the door on you two. I honestly prayed for the floor to open up and swallow me. Now, I want to know one of your worries."

He frowned at her, but it lacked any real heat, "What will I get if I do this?"

She pretended to think seriously on this. "Well, since I already told you what was bugging me, it will have to be something else. How about this, you tell me one of your problems and I'll tell you something that I think or feel about you."

He stroked his mustache to hide his smirk, "I don't know, you might say something bad about me."

She challenged, "Well, that's just a risk you're going to have to take, isn't it?"

"Let it never be said that I was a coward. Very well. We haven't talked, really talked in weeks." He flushed but boldly forged ahead, "You've been spending most of your time with Dwalin and Dori, I was beginning to fear that you'd lost interest in me."

She hesitated, trying to find a way to say this and saw him flinch, although he quickly hid it. She rushed to reassure him, "I haven't lost interest in you, I'm just trying to find a way to say this without sounding catty."

He said warily, "Just go ahead and say it. I won't hold whatever it is against you."

She shook her head, "It's not you. It's just, every time we talk or I try to spend time with you, Rina interrupts us. At first I believed that it was just old friends catching up and resolved to be patient, but it occurred more and more, until any time I even moved in your direction, she would need something else. So I resolved to wait it out, but it's been weeks and I miss you. Last night, she kept trying to sneak out and I don't doubt that she was looking for you. But I felt like if I tried to say anything, I would just look immature and petty. I don't want you to never have female friends, but she wants to drive us apart. I'm surprised that she hasn't interrupted us yet." And yes, that was a trace of bitterness in her voice.

There was smug satisfaction in Fili's voice, "That's because Kili and the others are giving her the runaround that we reserve for difficult clients, especially when they are harassing one or more of the company. Truth be told, I've been happy to deal with Rina because it gave me something to do to keep my mind occupied and away from the thoughts that I was losing you. I never thought that she was the reason for your unhappiness. I'm sorry."

Not wanting to see the sadness and unhappiness on his face, she glanced around discreetly to make sure that no one else was near enough to overhear. Once she was satisfied that they had as much privacy as was possible on the road, she leaned closer and looked coyly up at him, "My turn to share something. You know why I stumbled into the Mala's yesterday?" He shook his head no. "I was too busy contemplating braids that I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings."

His eyes were puzzled, "Contemplating braids?"

A corner of her mouth quirked and she murmured, "Yes. Courting. Betrothal. And of course, marriage." She dropped her voice on the last word, a sensual tone entering it.

He jerked back, his eyes widening in shock. He stared at her for several moments before closing his eyes and clenching his hands. He gritted out, "Bella, you can't just say stuff like that."

She leaned over until her face was tucked into the crook of his neck and breathed deeply, delighting in his scent. She murmured against his neck, allowing her lips to brush over his skin, "Why not? Don't tell me that you've never thought of how our relationship would change as it progresses, of all the little joys and fights that we'll have. As well as our future. Together." She dropped a small kiss on his neck before drawing back and smiling innocently up at him.

He groaned, "Bella, you're killing me." He opened his eyes and looked down at her, his expression intense.

She batted her eyes at him, "Oh no, that will never do." Satisfied that she had thoroughly chased the sadness away from him, she said, "Next problem?"

He bristled and muttered, "She's sitting on my lap, driving me out of my mind with her antics."

She said slyly, "Oh dear, that's not good. Do I need to go ride in a wagon or something and let you recenter yourself?"

He groaned again but couldn't help the rueful chuckle that escaped him. "Dear heart, even if we've been together for centuries, you'll still manage to turn my head and make me crazy. Now, behave yourself before uncle or Dori or someone comes to investigate. I do not need yet another lecture on how to treat a lady right."

This sparked her curiosity and her eyes sparkled, "Another lecture?"

He mock sighed, his expression pitiful and long suffering. "I have had to sit through many, many lectures on how to treat a jewel like you, a good portion of them from Gloin but all of the company including my baby brother have threatened me should I step even a hair out of line and didn't treat you with utter respect. You are much loved in this group, Bella mine."

She smiled and leaned forward, gently rubbing his nose with hers before pulling back. "I think that you're perfect and I wouldn't have you any other way. Never change, Fili mine. They may give all the advice they want, but remember that you are the one that I chose, not them. And even if I had to do it again, I would still choose you. I will chose you each and every time, never doubt that. Kili said that not calling you or telling you that I was injured was a sign that I had lost faith in you. That is not true and I will never make that mistake again, you have my word on that. But I was trying to protect you, not hurt you, just so you know."

He sighed, running his fingers through her curls. "I can understand the Mala's, even though it scares me senseless. The thought that I came so close to losing you haunts me. Especially as you are a paired fighter. You should've had someone with you, I should've been with you. But I can't change that and angsting about it won't do me any good. But the fact that you were hurt, for hours, and didn't tell me, that hurts, Bella. That hurts me deeply."

She sighed, leaning into his touch. "Oh Fili, I'm so sorry. There are two reasons that I didn't tell you, although neither one makes sense now."

He kept running his fingers through her curls, the motion soothing and centering them both. "And what were these sensible, nonsensical reasons?"

"One, I truly though that it was just a scratch. Didn't realize that they're poisonous or whatever they are, maybe just extremely dirty, but I didn't expect that to happen from just a tiny cut." She stopped.

He finally had to prompt, "And the second reason?"

She scowled, "I sound like a faunt and I know that it's not fair to blame all of my behavior on other people."

He frowned at this, his mind quickly working out what she was not saying. "Rina?"

She nodded grimly, "She's been rather harsh about my skills as a fighter and me having to be a paired fighter. It was simple jealousy, but I didn't want to appear weak in front of her and I especially didn't want to appear weak in front of you and make you regret choosing me. It's foolishness, I know, but my head hasn't been in a great space lately. I'm really, really sorry."

Tugging gently on her hair, he tipped her head back until she faced him. "Despite what she says, Rina is a mediocre fighter at best and despite your lack of skill and training, you have more heart than any other warrior. And there's no shame in being a paired warrior. In fact, being a paired fighter requires more skill, not less, because you have to watch out for both your partner and yourself. And you could never appear weak to me, Bella. I have seen your heart and it is pure mithril. Trust me on this."

She shifted slightly so she could face him better and threaded her fingers through his hair. "So I'm a fool and you're a fool, I love you and you love me, and we need to talk to each other and not be fools and assume what the other one is thinking or feeling."

He nodded, "Mahal, yes. I can't deal with the stress and if you were hurting anything like I was hurting, that just makes me hurt more. I don't want that. You should always be smiling."

"Well then, it's a good thing that you make me smile."

She leaned up right as he leaned down and they kissed. It was sweet and reaffirming of their relationship and it helped them to recenter themselves in each other. It started off slow and chaste but it soon started heating up, their longing and missing and need for each other surfacing and communicating itself through their kiss and touch. They finally pulled back, panting as they stared at each other hungrily. She was the one to break the stare first, burying her face into his chest and struggling to push down the need and want. Finally, her breathing calmed and she was no longer trembling with need. She muttered, "I guess we can't justifiably leave Kili with the wolves since he didn't interrupt that kiss."

He chuckled, "I think it's time for a confession. I've been asking him to do that."

She pulled back and stared at him in disbelief, "What do you mean?" He just looked at her. Her eyes widened as she caught on, "You mean to say that you're the reason that I've been so frustrated with our kisses being interrupted."

He grinned at her lopsidedly, "I don't think you understand just how tempting a lass you are. It takes all of my will power to resist you and sometimes, I just can't help but kiss you. Kili is helping me keep our honor during this courtship. There are rules and protocols in place for courtship and even more for the betrothal period. We're going to be back in Ered Luin in a few months, then you can talk to my mother about all of that, especially the etiquette for dams."

She rolled her eyes at him, "Well, that certainly explains why Kili didn't get pounded after interrupting us. I will talk to your mother, but no more kisses for you, sir."

His face fell, "C'mon, Bella."

She put her nose in the air and turned away from him and faced front. She jostled her leg and had to bite back a grunt of pain. However, he seemed to realize what had happened and coaxed her to lean back across his chest. She sighed but leaned back against his chest. She muttered, "Distract me from my stupidity."

He was very obliging and began telling her of past caravans that they had guarded and the antics that he and his brother had gotten up to. Company members cycled through riding next to them, adding to the stories and checking on her subtly, for dwarves anyway. It was by far the most pleasant morning she had spent in ages. They stopped for lunch and Fili helped her down and steadied her with his hands on her waist as her wounded leg decided whether or not to support her. However, it appeared more as if it had just gone to sleep than anything more serious.

Fili offered her his arm and they strolled slowly through the camp, allowing her to gently stretch her leg as they made their way over to where Bombur was preparing lunch. She glanced up to see Rina standing in the middle of the path, a scowl on her face. She sighed and Fili glanced to see what had caught her attention. When she saw Fili looking her way, Rina was immediately all smiles. She quickly walked over to the two of them, "Fili, there you are! I haven't seen you all morning. Say that you'll ride with me this afternoon."

He smiled back but Bella could tell that it was his formal smile, not that Rina seemed to be able to tell the difference. "I'm sorry, but Bella was hurt yesterday. Today I'll be with her."

Feeling her heart warm, she gently squeezed his arm. Rina turned to her, her eyes widening insincerely, "Oh dear, why didn't you say anything, Bella? What happened?"

Bella smiled politely at her, "There were some enemies in the wood yesterday. But don't worry, Dwalin and I were able to remove the threat."

A snide undertone slipped into Rina's voice, although it was so slight that if you weren't listening for it, you wouldn't realize that it was there. "Oh, that's horrible. It's lucky that Dwalin was there to help you out. That must have been frightening, especially for one that hasn't trained that much."

Fili opened his mouth to retort but she squeezed his arm firmly, replying quickly, "I must admit that it was quite intense. I am grateful that Dwalin came looking for me to let me know that the caravan was moving out. Things could've been quite dicey, it's true. If you'll excuse us? I'm starving and Fili is very kindly acting as my cane for now."

Rina nodded, the gesture stiff and stepped aside. When they were several yards away, Fili murmured, "Is she always that unpleasant?"

Bella laughed lightly, "Oh, that was actually Rina on good behavior. I think that she didn't want to show her nastiness in front of you and usually her remarks are much more loaded about the poor, helpless, misplaced hobbit spinster."

He scowled and said, "That's just rude and totally untrue. I can't help it if the hobbits are blind but it was my fortune that they are. You are mine and I will take apart anyone that says otherwise."

She cooed, "Aww, that's my Fili." She reached up to kiss him and he was bending down when she pulled back teasingly. "Uh-oh, I forgot, no kisses."

He groaned, "Bella."

She giggled and tugged him towards where Bombur was cooking. "C'mon, I'm starving."

He laughed, "Well, can't have that. Lead on, milady."

Laughing, she did exactly that.


	4. They Just Can't Catch a Break

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, yet another chapter, lol

The next few weeks passed and things seemed to improve. Bella spent more time with Fili and their relationship seemed to be stronger than ever. She had even gone to Balin and asked him discreetly about dwarven courting and the dam's side of it. Balin didn't know all of it, but was at least able to get the main parts of it and it would be enough to tide her over until she could talk to Dis. Yes, Fili was her son, but she had always found the dam to be practical and level headed, not to mention fair. Also, Fili or Kili was with her at all times, making sure that she was never alone with Rina except for when they slept at night. 

But despite things going better or probably because of it, Rina was getting more and more irritable. Bella would never be so glad to see a job done. Especially after Fili told her that Rina said that Kili and Bella were sneaking around. She had immediately rolled her eyes and had been super relieved when Fili didn't give the accusation any credit either. He had gotten a kiss for that, but she kept it brief and chaste.

But things were getting crazier, especially the attacks. It seemed like every time she was on patrol or watch, something else came out of the woodwork to attack. It was getting ridiculous and only a miracle was keeping her alive. That and the concerted effort of several dwarves. She was never allowed out of sight, someone had to be with her at all times. It was getting frustrating, she couldn't even get time to visit the bushes alone anymore. Everyone was doing their best to make the situation tolerable, but it was starting to border on the ridiculous. That's not even to mention the weirdest thing. Supposedly Rina was the one that everything was after, but all of the attackers had made a beeline straight for Bella. It was infuriating Fili and scaring the crap out of Bella. He had been talking about taking her and leaving the caravan, but they had managed to talk him out of it and convince him that she was safer with the company, that and it would be harmful to leave a contract halfway.

But he was hovering and it was starting to get on her nerves. She was tempted to snap at him, but knew that he was truly distraught about how things currently were. Finally she had broken down and asked Kili to trade with him for a day. Since Fili had learned about how Rina was treating her, he had been cool and distant to the dam. Bella felt rather guilty as she had not meant to come between childhood friends. So maybe if he got to spend a day away from Bella and the dam was being her usual charming self, maybe they could get things back onto an even keel. Not too chummy, mind you, but less tense at least.

Kili also looked like he needed a break from Rina as well. He was riding his pony along side the cart she was driving. "Thank you. I couldn't stand another day of Fili, Fili, Fili. I love my brother as much as anyone else, but c'mon, I do not need to hear how great he is, all day long."

She batted her eyes at him, "You mean you don't want to hear me sing your brother's praises and how much I love him."

Kili bent over his pony and pretended to gag. "Please don't, I'd rather kill myself."

She laughed at that and he grinned at her. "It's a good thing you don't wanna talk about him because he was driving me batty with his hovering. I do love him dearly and I know that he is only concerned, but I'm going crazy with him insisting on being at my side at all times. I can't even go to the bushes without having to fight for it anymore. I think that if he thought he could get away with it, he'd tie my wrist to his so that I wouldn't wander off in the few seconds that he blinks a day."

Kili groaned, "It's a wonder that we're both not insane by this point. Let's just enjoy this day away from the obsessive people."

She nodded, "Tell me how you got into archery. I'm sure that there must be some, but I've never really heard about dwarven archers until I met you."

He lit up at this and was off, his eyes sparkling as he regaled her with stories of learning how to use a bow and arrow as well as the mischief he and Fili had gotten into once he had learned how to use them. Bella was in stitches and tears were streaming down her face by the time lunch was called. Thankfully Ori took mercy on her and took over the watch the Bella duty for lunch and afterwards.

She found Ori's personality and presence soothing, so it was no hardship to have a conversation with the scribe, this time about the various monsters that had been attacking them and how best to deal with them. Although the conversation was gruesome and more than a little disturbing, she found herself intrigued by all the variety of ways that they attack as well as the many ways to deal with them. She was also rather intrigued by the depth of his knowledge.

Before she knew it, time had flown by and it was time to stop the caravan for the day. Bella decided to help Bombur with dinner, laughing and joking with the quiet dwarf. It took a while, but once you got past his reserve, Bombur turned out to be warm and jovial. And when he had learned that Bella was alone in the world, he had taken her under his wing, much like one of his many dwarflings. As a matter of fact, Bombur would not have stood out in the Shire, with his love of eating and his many children. It warmed her deeply to have Bombur fill the void of no family, to have that connection, although all of the company had filled the void of no family.

Once dinner was ready, she made her way over and tucked herself into Fili's side, knowing that he would be stressed after being apart from her all day. He wrapped an arm around her, his body relaxing. She offered him a bite of bread and teased, "See, we spent a day apart and there isn't a scrape or bruise on me."

He took the bite, pretending to nip at her fingers. She tapped his nose lightly but smiled up at him. Once he swallowed, he said, "It's a miracle that you managed to be in one piece. Especially as you were with Kili."

He offered her a bite of stew and she accepted it absently. She said, "It was only this morning, Ori and I discussed monsters and their weaknesses this afternoon. And seriously, if half of what Kili told me about the trouble that you two got up to, it's a miracle that both your mother and uncle aren't completely white haired."

He laughed, "What did Kili tell you? I'm sure that they were greatly exaggerated."

She told him the stories that Kili had shared with her and they laughed and traded bites until dinner was done. Finally she yawned and reached up and brushed a kiss over his lips. "I'd better get some sleep, love. I have second watch tonight."

He pouted, "I'm on third watch, I wanted to be on the same watch as you."

Kili called from across the fire, "Nope, no lovebirds on the same watch. None of us want to get eaten because you two are making moon eyes at each other." 

There was a harsh scoff from Rina, but everyone ignored her. Fili called out, "You're on third watch too, Kili, you know what that means."

Kili groaned, "That means that I'm gonna be tired tomorrow. Not cool."

Bella soothed, "We'll be at another inn tomorrow night. Then we can all get a good night's sleep. I for one am looking forward to it immensely. Not to mention a break from all the snoring."

This brought good natured laughter from the rest of the group. She carefully extricated herself from Fili and stood, chuckling at the way her spine popped when she stretched. As she went to move away, he caught her hand and tugged her back to him. He pulled her down just enough to brush a kiss over her lips and murmur, "Good night."

She cupped his face and rubbed a thumb over his cheekbone before allowing her hand to drop. She brushed a kiss on his forehead and murmured, "Sleep well."

He reluctantly released her hand and she made her way over to her bedroll. Rina stayed at the fire, but Bella knew that she wouldn't be able to start any mischief with the rest of the company right there. Slipping into her bedroll, she quickly succumbed to slumber.

* * *

It felt like she had only been asleep for a few minutes when Ori was shaking her awake. She yawned and murmured thank you and that she was awake, dragging herself upright. He nodded and yawned, making his way to his own bedroll. Bella glanced over and saw that Rina was asleep in her bedroll, so she was careful to not disturb her as she made her way out from under the wagon.

She made her way over to where Dwalin was waiting. She grumbled, "You know that you drew the short stick, right?"

He grinned at her, "I volunteered, lass."

She muttered, "Of course you did. You probably like fighting off whatever attacks us. Probably just a warm up for you."

He shrugged, "It's not natural, the way that things keep going after you. I'm going to get to the root of it one way or the other."

She smiled up at him, "Thank you, that's really reassuring."

He just grunted his affirmation and she moved across the way to keep an eye out for threats that way. To her surprise, the watch passed uneventfully and soon it was time to awaken the princes for the last watch. She had just reached down to shake Fili awake when he grabbed her wrist and flipped her over onto her back, straddling her with a knife at her throat.

She froze, not daring to move a muscle, and called softly, "Fili."

It came out as the barest of sounds, her breath having been knocked from her, but it seemed to do the trick. His eyes widened as he suddenly seemed to realize what had happened and with a curse, he yanked the knife away and threw it off into the darkness. Even though it was totally inappropriate, she couldn't help the giggles that spilled out of her. He was checking her out frantically for wounds, but she couldn't seem to stop giggling for long enough to reassure him.

Finally, with a tremendous amount of will power, she stopped laughing and reached up and grabbed his hand. "Fili, I'm fine, really. You just startled me."

He cursed again before saying brokenly, "Bella, I."

She put a finger firmly over his lips. "You were sleeping, this was not your fault. Next time I'll just poke you with a stick or something. Now, get off of me before Dwalin comes looking for us. It's time for your watch."

He turned bright red and scrambled off of her. She carefully levered herself up into a sitting position, pleased to find that even asleep Fili had been careful with her. Kili chose that moment to let out another snore and she giggled. "Wow, he can sleep through anything."

Fili was rubbing a hand over his face. "He's been that way since we were dwarflings. Bella, I'm sorry, so sorry."

She raised up onto her knees and faced him, cupping his face gently. "You must've been having quite a dream to be so on edge. Wanna tell me what it was?"

He sighed, "There was another attack, but this time you were taken and I couldn't find you. No matter how much I struggled or fought, I couldn't find you."

She leaned her forehead against his and just stayed there, regulating her breathing in the hopes that he would mirror her. After a minute or so, it seemed to work as his body relaxed and his breathing evened out. Pulling back, she smiled at him. "As you can clearly see, I'm fine and that didn't happen. And even if it did, you would find a way to get me back, I am certain of it. Now, you need to wake up Kili and go relieve Dwalin and I'm going to go catch what sleep I can before it's time to head out, ok, love?"

He smiled back at her, his blue eyes clear again. "Yes, thank you. I'm sorry."

She shushed him again. "Don't be sorry. This wasn't your fault. In fact, I find it quite hilarious. So don't worry about it. You take too much on your shoulders and if I'm not upset, why should you be?"

He chuckled quietly, "There you go, being all logical again. Get some sleep, love, I'll see you in the morning."

She yawned and nodded, quickly getting to her feet and making her way to her bedroll. The rest of the night passed quietly and before she knew if was time to get up and get going. She brought both Fili and Kili cups of coffee, although Fili got a kiss with his. Kili rolled his eyes but let it pass unremarked. However, Rina was extremely demanding that day and insisted upon Bella helping her. Knowing that there would be an inn that night, she kept her temper and good humor. Every time she passed Kili, she made a face and he started making faces back at her. She even managed to rope Ori into the game before Thorin caught on and told them to knock it off. She sighed but did as she was ordered.

They reached the inn by mid afternoon and Bella had never been so happy to see it. There was even a bathhouse. Handing client sitting duties over to Dori, Bella happily made a beeline to the bath house and indulged in a good long soak. Once she was boneless and happy, she pulled herself out and went in search of Fili. She found him in the stables, brushing down a pony, a harried look on his face. She called teasingly, "Those ponies saying mean things?"

He whirled when she spoke, relaxing when he saw her. "Oh, it's you."

She said cheerfully, "Yep, it's me. Expecting someone else?"

He shrugged, "Rina's being clingy and won't leave me alone, no matter what I say."

She walked silently over next to him and rubbed her hand reassuringly up and down his arm, "I'm sorry, love. Just a little bit longer. You guys have a flawless reputation, have completed every request that you have ever undertaken, this is a pain but you can stand it for a little bit longer."

He covered her hand with his own, smiling warmly at her. "We."

She tilted her head, "What?"

"WE have a flawless reputation, have completed every request WE have ever undertaken, this is a pain but WE can stand it for a little bit longer."

She had to smile back at him, "It's still hard to truly believe that I've earned a place amongst you. Never thought that I would be part of a caravan like this."

"A caravan like what?"

She tried to find the right words to explain, "I was part of a merchant caravan, we worked with goods, buying and selling. And the caravan was wiped out because of a foolish purchase that one of our people made. Of the few of us that survived, I'm the only one that rejoined a caravan. They couldn't understand why I'd risk it. And to be honest, you lot are about as far from a merchant caravan as can be. You are guardians and protectors, you go where there is danger. And you are damn good at your job. Not to mention that you are used to dealing with difficult, entitled clients and yet still manage to get the jobs done. I could've never imagined joining an outfit like this, but it's so fulfilling. Not to mention that the guys are pretty cute." She winked at him.

He growled at her teasingly, "What do you mean, pretty cute?"

She took a tiny step back, "How about, devastatingly handsome then?"

He watched her with unnerving intensity but didn't move. "That's better but still not quite right."

She tapped her chin mock thoughtfully, "Well, all right then. Most of the dwarves are pretty handsome, but there is one that is head and shoulders above the rest. What can I say, I like blonds."

He laughed at that and finally relaxed fully, "It's a good thing that you do. If if you didn't like me, I'd have to follow you around all pitifully like Kili with gigantic puppy dog eyes and the saddest expression that I can muster. Trust me, you don't want to deal with a mopey, sad dwarf." A horse whickered and he looked around carefully, but they were still alone in the stables except for the stable hand. "What brought you out here anyway?"

She moved back over next to him and looked pleadingly up at him and batting her eyes. "I was hoping that you would help me with my hair?" She held out a comb and her beads.

He took them gently from her and moved her over to sit on a straw bale. "Of course, you know that you don't have to ask."

She smiled, "I know, but it's been weeks since we've been able to do this, so I was hoping that you would be willing to do so. This is something that I miss, you dealing with my hair every day." When there was no client with the caravan, the members acted just like the family that they were. However, when there was a client, they had to act more professionally, especially since Bella and Fili's relationship seemed to piss Rina off, so they had to keep it on the down low.

He started easing the comb through her hair, "I've missed this too, being able to court you properly, to take care of you correctly. I can't wait until we get back to Ered Luin so you can talk to Amad." His fingers tightened in her hair for only a moment before relaxing. He muttered, "I don't want to say goodnight to you anymore. I want to be yours, I want you to be mine."

She sighed, "Soon, my Fili, soon. Tell you what, make my braid as elaborate as you want, I'll give you a free pass this time."

His voice brightened, "Anything?"

She laughed, "Anything, just this once. And if it's not too crazy, I might even let you do it again."

"If that's the case, I shall do my best to impress you, milady."

His fingers were deft, weaving her hair together swiftly. She had always marveled at how quickly dwarves could braid and decorate hair. He fussed with it for several minutes before finally declaring it done. She slipped a small compact out of her pocket and examined it, the beauty of it taking her breath away. She turned to face him, her eyes shining, "Well, I was expecting something like Nori or Dori's, this is exquisite. You can definitely do my hair again."

He smirked at her, his mustache braids swinging. She tucked her arm through his. "C'mon, I'm starving and the sooner this is over, the sooner we can move forward with us."

"In that case, move on, milady."

* * * 

Bella was awoken in the middle of the night by a loud commotion. She hadn't meant to fall so deeply asleep and she bolted upright. She looked over and found Rina's bed empty. With a curse, she grabbed her daggers and scrambled out of bed. Flinging open the door, she scrambled down searching for whatever enemies had invaded the inn and abducted Rina. However, instead of finding bandits or orcs, she found a hallway full of upset dwarves. She pushed and shoved her way through to the middle where she found Thorin, Dwalin, Balin, Fili, Kili, and surprise, surprise, Rina. Her eyes widened as she took in the female dwarf's attire. It was nothing short of shameless, a short night dress that was almost see through. Fili was as far away from her as he could possible get in the small hallway, Kili standing guard between him and Rina. Both of their eyes were filled with anger.

She listened to what Rina was saying and at first couldn't even comprehend the other woman's words. She was shouting that Fili was her One and that she wasn't going to allow him to be stolen away by a bootless, beardless whore. This caused all of the dwarves to start shouting angrily but Bella went cold. Her emotions just shut off and her mind seemed to be crystal clear. 

She pushed through the dwarves and walked noiselessly up to the shrieking dam. Taking a deep breath, she slapped her hard on the cheek. The dam reeled backwards, her eyes wide as she clutched her cheek. Bella's voice was quiet and level when she spoke, "That's enough. There are other guests here in the inn and you're making a scene. Let's return to the room."

Rina opened her mouth and Bella cut over her, "That wasn't a suggestion."

She turned her attention to the rest of the dwarves. "Balin, if you could make our apologies to the innkeeper?" The white haired dwarf nodded and headed back into his room. She turned her attention to the nervous Ori. "Please take everyone's statements about the incident." He nodded, moving back to his room to get his supplies. She faced the rest of the group. "Don't talk to each other, just tell your story to Ori. Once he's taken your statement, you are free to turn in. We'll deal with this matter in the morning when heads are clearer. Oin or Gloin, would one of you mind spending the rest of the night in our room?"

They both nodded, "Aye lassie, no problem."

She nodded and smiled at all of them, although it felt stiff and soon fell away. "Goodnight, gentlemen. See you in the morning."

She reached out and grabbed Rina's arm, steering her through the group of dwarves that parted silently for her. Rina tried to resist, but Bella towed her along easily, Oin and Gloin following them. She thought distantly that Fili had been right, that her skills really were mediocre at best if she wasn't able to escape a small hobbit lass. They quickly reached the room and Bella dragged her inside, leading her over to the bed and indicating that she sit. Rina opened her mouth and Bella just shot her a look and the dam shut up, although she looked furious. 

Bella found a candle and lit it before inviting Oin and Gloin in. She barred the door behind them and offered them the choice of her bed or one of the two large armchairs. They both chose to take the arm chairs and quickly settled down. They were still fully dressed and she surmised that they had been downstairs drinking when the ruckus started. Rina started weeping loudly and Bella suggested mildly that she go to sleep or Oin could give her a sedative if she preferred. Rina shot her a black glare but hid herself under the blankets, weeping noisily into the pillow.

Bella settled herself comfortably on the bed, leaning back against the wall. Well, this was an unexpected twist. She should really be upset, angry, crying, heartbroken, something. After all, the insults that she had hurled about her were beyond the pall. Instead, she felt curiously empty. She noticed Oin and Gloin eyeing her worriedly and knew that she should smile or do something to reassure them. However, she had the feeling that whatever she did would fall flat. Instead, she merely signed that she was fine. Neither one seemed to really believe her, but they did her the courtesy of at least looking away. That would have to do.

Maybe half an hour had passed when there was a tentative knock on the door. Bella motioned for Oin and Gloin to stay put and made her way over to the door. Ori was standing on the other side, nervously twisting his hands together. She said softly, "You need to interview Oin and Gloin?" He nodded, meeting her eyes with obvious effort. "Which one would you prefer first?"

He waffled back and forth for several seconds before deciding, "Oin."

"I'll send him out." 

Closing the door behind her and leaving the anxious scribe in the hallway, she quickly signed what was going on. Oin grunted and stood, making his way out into the hallway. Bella resumed her position on the bed, cradling her hands in her lap and allowing her gaze to rest on them. Only a few minutes passed until Oin was back and Gloin headed out. Oin sat down in his chair and slumped wearily into it. She felt bad about making him spend his night in the chair, but all propriety must be maintained. To her surprise, when Gloin returned, he motioned that it was her turn to go speak to Ori. 

She nodded and made her way to the hall, finding Ori sitting down with his back propped against the wall, making a few random notes here and there in his journal, a new one by the looks of it. She knelt beside him and said quietly, "Ori."

His nervousness from earlier was gone and he was in control in full scribe mode. He asked her questions and she answered them succinctly and without emotion. Finally it was over and she rose to her feet, bidding him good night. However, before she could reenter the room, she saw Fili making his way down the hall towards her. She quietly asked Ori to stay and witness. The scribe gulped but did as she asked.

She waited until he was right next to her before putting up her hand to stop him when he would've swept her into his arms. Instead she said quietly, "Fili."

His eyes were a curious mixture of anger and begging her to believe him, "Bella, this isn't what this looks like, I swear."

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "I can't talk to you about this until tomorrow, I'm sorry. Are you all right?"

His hands fisted and he shook his head, "I'm not all right, not even close."

His distress tugged on a distant part of her, but she quickly shut it down. "I'm sorry. Tomorrow, everything will be sorted out, but we can't speak tonight. We have to do everything by the book."

He raked a hand through his hair and growled, "By the book?"

She nodded, "Yes. Everything must be above reproach. Try to get some rest. I'll talk to you in the morning."

He pleaded, "Bella, please."

She shook her head, hardening her heart. "I'm sorry, Fili. Try to get some rest. I'll see you in the morning." She turned and made her way back into the room. As she closed the door, she was pretty sure that she heard a frustrated cry and the sound of a fist slamming into a wall, but she didn't go back out and investigate.

Gloin eyed her worriedly, "You should've talked to the lad."

Weariness was starting to creep in but she pushed it resolutely back. "I'll talk to him in the morning. Everything must be above reproach as far as this investigation goes."

As soon as she said investigation, Gloin's confusion cleared up. Although many people thought him addled with how much he gushed about his wife and son, Gloin was one of the smartest dwarves in the company. He simply said ah and nodded his understanding. Relieved that she wouldn't have to hash everything out in front of Rina who had almost managed to cry herself to sleep, she climbed up on the bed and prepared to wait out the rest of the long night.


	5. The Truth Comes Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Everyone! Today is Friday, in case you were wondering, lol. Have another chapter :D

It was mid-morning by the time that the company had fully assembled outside of town by a mile or two. Bella had not left Rina's side for a single moment and Gloin and Oin had remained with them. Once they were deemed sufficiently far enough away from town, Thorin gave the order to circle the wagons. Bella felt her heart ache at how rough Fili looked, but kept her expression neutral with some effort.

There, they held the inquiry, all of the statements carefully gone over and Rina was given a chance to share her side of the story. The dam had dressed dramatically and much more shamelessly than she had before. Bella was sure that there were subtle clues in it that she was missing, but she just couldn't bring herself to care. The dam's testimony was dramatic and over the top, with much protestations of love and temporary insanity of seeing her One, her beloved, her only, with another. The words that she used to describe Bella were more tamed down but still boiled down to the nasty things that she had said the previous night. Bella remained aloof and distant from it, keeping her distance and composure. When it came her turn to testify, she kept it short and sweet, keeping solely to the facts that she knew to be true.

Rina was judged the guilty party and Bella and Fili were asked to pass judgement on her where they were the wronged party. Fili inclined his head, allowing her to speak first. She said quietly, "I want her to finish the journey. I do not ask for leniency, because her crime is such that I am disgusted. However, she hired us to take her to Moria and I say that we do so. However, I request some amendments be made."

Thorin was looking at her, baffled, but said gruffly, "What would those be?"

"She be disarmed except for an eating dagger. She is never allowed contact with Fili without a chaperone and then in increments not exceeding ten minutes and only on important business. I will still be her guard along with a dwarf or a pair of dwarves when I need a break. When we reach Moria, we turn this matter over to them along with the testimony gathered and the recording of all that went on today. I would normally suggest that you keep these documents in your care as you are the caravan leader, Thorin. However, since Fili is kin to you, may I suggest Balin or Oin instead?"

Thorin looked at Fili to see if he had anything to add, but he just shook his head. Thorin sighed, "Then it shall be as you say. Balin, if you would be so kind as to keep these in a sealed box?"

Bella allowed just a hint of anger to leak into her voice, "It's only two weeks to Moria. Then we will be free of her. If there's nothing else to be done?"

Thorin shook his head, dismissing them. Bella grabbed Fili's hand and towed him off into the surrounding forest, calling over her shoulder, "We'll be back in ten minutes and then we can move out."

Fili didn't say anything, just gripped her hand tighter as he eagerly followed her. She walked quickly until they were out of earshot although still close enough that they could hear a shout if need be. Releasing his hand, she turned and pulled him into a firm embrace. He quickly melted into it, wrapping his arms around her and drawing her close. It had been all she could do to hold her temper when she saw how disheveled he looked, the dark circles under his red rimmed eyes, and his hair looked like he'd been shoving his hand through it agitatedly all night. She murmured, "I never thought that you were guilty or involved. But I had to do it that way so that it's all aboveboard for when we turn her over. Otherwise it could be dismissed under conspiring and who knows what other nonsense."

He buried his nose in her hair and inhaled deeply before letting out a long, relieved sigh. He mumbled something and she had to pull back and ask him to say it again. He admitted quietly, "It all happened so fast, I wasn't sure what was going on or that I wasn't in the middle of some sort of nightmare. I'm just grateful that Kili was in the room, otherwise who knows what she might have accused me of? And then you were so distant and your eyes burned like ice, I didn't know what to think."

She offered him a lopsided smile, "Like ice? I was doing my best to keep my temper under control."

He shook his head solemnly, "That wasn't under control, that was scarily silent. I think that you could've ordered us all to shave bald and we would've done so without a peep of protest."

She laughed at that, relief flowing through her, "You are ridiculous but I love you anyway. Now, you need to fix yourself up, you look a mess. Don't let her know that she got to you."

He shook his head angrily, "I don't care two figs about her. I was worried that I had managed to alienate you, through no fault of my own."

She tenderly cupped his cheek, "My love is not so fragile as all that. Trust me." She kissed him briefly, pulling back before he could deepen it. "Now, tidy up and then you might get another kiss." She stepped back out of his arms and offered him her comb.

He tried puppy dog eyes on her, but she stood firm. He sighed and took the comb from her, doing as she had requested. He did smile when she requested that he teach her how to do one of his many braids. That seemed to reassure him that she wasn't just giving him hollow words but that she really didn't blame him for the entire mess. Finally he was straightened up and looking much more like his normal self, although they couldn't do much about the circles under his eyes, although she did press a tender kiss below each one.

He pulled her into another kiss and she didn't resist, letting him reassure himself that she was real and that she wasn't upset with him or going to walk away. She drew back before it could get too heated. "We only have ten minutes, remember? Also, there's something I wanted to show you."

He sighed but obediently let her go, his expression curious. "You know how she claimed that you were her One and that I was stealing you?"

Fili's expression immediately hardened, "That's a lie, I swear on all that is holy."

She smiled up at him, "I know that, but you know, you've never said whether or not we were Ones. How can dwarves know if they've met their One or not? And before you say anything one way or the other, I love you to pieces and it doesn't matter whether or not we are Ones."

Fili hesitated for only a brief second before replying. "When you find your One, there is no other sensation like it in the world. You feel invincible, as if you could take on entire armies singlehandedly. Like you were broken and were suddenly whole. It feels like there is a vein of mithril leading from their heart to yours, so you can always find them, always know where they are and whether or not they are safe or in danger."

She had a feeling that she knew the answer, but asked anyway, "And have you found your One, your other half?"

He stepped forward and linked his hands in the small of her back, "I have indeed. A beautiful, cunning, wonderful hobbit lass who is my whole world."

She smiled brightly up at him, "That's good, because otherwise we would have to have words. Also, I have something to show you. Let me go."

He grumbled but did as she asked. She started digging through her belt pouch. While she searched, she said conversationally, "Something about hobbits that you may not have known. We also have Ones. I mean, it makes sense since we are the children of your maker's wife. However, we have a different way of telling when someone is our One. Hold out your hands."

He did and she dropped something into it. He examined it, puzzled. "A seed?"

She laughed lightly, "Yes, a seed. You see, if two people are to connect, to grow closer, to grow a family, to grow a life together, there must be a start. Focus on the seed, just the seed."

She cupped his hands with hers and focused on the seed. After a moment of hesitation, he did the same. As soon as he did, she felt warmth spill down her arms and pool in her palms. Their hands started to glow and his eyes widened. She said softly, "Keep focusing on the seed."

He did and the glow brightened and the seed began to sprout. It took two or three minutes all told before the flower was fully bloomed in their hands. Finally she allowed the warmth to die down and pulled her hands away from his, leaving him holding a fully bloomed tiger lily plant with five flowers on it in his hands. She smiled tenderly at him, "I'd say that's pretty conclusive, wouldn't you?"

He stared at the flower and then at her. "It's gorgeous, so fiery and brilliant, just like you."

She answered softly, "The flower represents both of us, Fili, not just me."

He nodded absently, still studying the flower. He finally looked up at her, his eyes lit up, "Can I add these to your hair?"

He was like a little boy with those big pleading eyes and bright grin and she found herself caving. "Of course you can, but quickly. We're just about out of time and any minute now they're going to send someone, most likely Kili, after us."

There was a chuckle from the trees as Dwalin walked out. "Close lass, they sent me instead." He nodded at Fili, "Go ahead and braid in the flowers, they can wait a minute and it will show that you're both alright, especially after scary Bella last night."

She grumbled even as Fili started working on her hair, "Why does everyone keep saying that? I was perfectly under control."

He laughed at that, "Sure you were. Your eyes were icy and you manhandled a dam like she weighed nothing. That was an impressive elbow lock and nerve pinch, not that it was readily apparent. Plus you kept your head together and got us all the evidence that we needed to prove what she had done, beyond reproach, beyond any shadow of a doubt. However, I really do not want to see scary Bella again."

She grumbled but Fili pronounced it done and laced his fingers through hers, leading her back towards the caravan with Dwalin falling into step behind them.

She asked him, "Who's with Rina? I think it might be better if I'm not next to her for a day or two."

Dwalin nodded his agreement, "Oin and Dori are with her for now, we'll be switching off every four or six hours. I'd give her two days to cool off and maybe become rational again before you approach her."

Bella sighed in relief, "I can definitely do that." She tugged gently on Fili's hand. "Can I ride with you?"

He grinned warmly at her, "Of course, you don't even have to ask, amralime."

* * *

The next two days passed relatively quietly. Rina rotated between pissed off and quietly sulking. The dwarves changed every four hours, but her behavior was the same with each pair. Hatred about Bella, longing for Fili along with fervent claims that she was his One, how they would all pay for this at Moria. The entire company was praying and counting down the last few days of the trip.

It was the afternoon of the third day when all hell broke loose. A large band of orcs, wargs, and goblins descended on the company. Despite them being supposedly after Rina, not a single one even registered her presence. They even avoided her like there was an invisible circle around her. Instead, there was an insane light in their eyes as they tried to get to Bella and kill her. She did her best, but there were just too many of them.

As she ducked yet another orc, she screamed to Dwalin, "Something's wrong."

He roared as he smashed yet another goblin with Grasper, "Why do you say that?"

She roared back, "I'm the least threatening one in the caravan. They're supposed to be after Rina for Yavanna's sake! But not a one is going for her. Hell, they're avoiding attacking the ones that are the biggest threats to them. But they are mindlessly trying to kill me. Look at their eyes. Something is wrong."

She shrieked and ducked away as a ragged blade came swinging at her head. Kili gave a roar and parried it, neatly decapitating the goblin. She huddled against one of the wagons and panted heavily, trying to catch her breath. She looked over at Rina and saw that she was holding something in her hands and was focused firmly on it, chanting. Bella swore a blue streak, viciously enough to catch Kili and Dwalin's attention. After a few more moments, accompanied with several more swearwords, she shouted, "Rina's a witch, we gotta stop her. We stop her chanting, we derail the attack."

Both dwarves eyes hardened as they glanced at the dam. However, they couldn't take their eyes away from their enemies for long. Bella knew that she had to do something before her family got injured or killed. Seeing her chance, she ran, not bothering to to defend herself, ducking and dodging through the swarming enemy. Fili screamed her name desperately, but she blocked him out and kept running. One of the orcs managed to catch her braid and with a cry of pain and regret, she sliced it off and kept running.

Finally she was there, right in front of Rina. The invisible barrier around her kept the enemies away from them. Rina shifted her attention to Bella, hatred and insanity glimmering in her eyes. She started to shift her spell to Bella, but Bella didn't give her a chance and slammed her fist into the dam's face, knocking her out cold. As the dam slumped to the ground unconscious, the orcs and goblins turned on each other, Rina's spell obviously the only thing that had kept their hatred of each other at bay. The dwarves mopped up the strays, several of them breaking away from the fight to circle the two women. 

Bella winced as she saw Fili eradicating the enemy with extreme prejudice, his two swords ripping through them like they paper. Thankfully Kili was watching his back, although no one even came close to touching the enraged dwarf. She heard Ori mutter the word beserker but Nori shook his head no. "The lad's in complete control. He's just pissed off and scared out of his mind. There's going to be hell to pay when he catches up with Bella for scaring him so badly. Not to mention that you'll probably need stitches, lass. Couple of 'em nicked you, you'll feel it when the battle fever wears off."

She glanced down and saw that he was right, sighing at the smears of red. She knelt down next to fallen dam and pried open her hands. Inside was a pouch of her missing herbs and what looked like a scrap of her missing shirt. She tossed it at Ori, "Burn that, as soon as possible."

He wrinkled his nose and held it with two fingers. "What's in it?"

She scowled, "I don't know and I don't want to know. Witchcraft is nasty and a perversion of everything that is natural, Yavanna curse her. You'll never find a hobbit messing with that."

Dori tutted, "Dwarves too. She will most definitely be judged for this."

Bella quickly rifled through her pockets, tossing several more bundles to Ori. She snarled, "I guess we know now why everything on middle earth seemed to be after me. Burn all of that."

She quickly rose to her feet and moved into the protective circle, "Nori, tie her up."

Nori grinned rather toothily at her, "With pleasure."

The battle was moped up quickly. The dwarves quickly caught their breath and then piled the corpses up and burned them. Bella kept trying to catch Fili's eye but he kept avoiding her. Finally she gave up and allowed Oin to tend her. Thankfully the cuts were shallow and only one needed any stitches. After the fire was out, they moved the caravan several miles away so that the scent of blood wouldn't draw any other predators to them. Rina was tossed unceremoniously into the back of one of them. Then the opposite happened, Bella was too busy as was Fili for them to talk. She did manage to grab Kili and ask if his brother was ok.

Kili was uncharacteristically sober. "Physically, he's fine. Mentally, he's a total mess. Bella, he nearly lost you today. Lost you because of someone that we'd thought was a friend, someone that we recommended to Uncle that we take. It was supposed to be an easy job, a favor for our friend. You are his world, Bella. He has almost lost you too many times. I don't know what's going to happen. I've only managed to get him to speak a couple of words to me."

She pinched the bridge of her nose, "Are we talking pushing me away or wrapping me so tightly in cotton that I can't breathe?"

His dark eyes lightened slightly, "You sound surprisingly resigned."

She offered him a tired smile and shoved one of the short curls behind her ear where it immediately sprang back free. "Do you guys think that you're the only one worried about me being hurt or killed? I'm just as worried about all of you. I would tuck you all away safe if I could. But Balin tells me that that is considered kidnapping and I would be locked up. Since I don't want to share a cell with Nori for whatever current infraction that he's pulled, I'll do what I can to keep you all safe in other ways. That's why I had to stop Rina."

He nodded, his eyes tired. "My bet is on cotton wrapped. I don't even know what we're going to do now."

She said quietly, "I'm going to go help Bombur with dinner, you're going to go see Oin and get your wounds tended, and we're going to keep going to Moria. It's the closest settlement. I'm sure that Ori has documented everything, it's going to be ok, Kili."

He sighed and did as she told him to do. Bella quickly made her way over to Bombur and helped him with dinner. They laced Rina's portion with sleeping drugs and gave it to Balin who calmly fed it to the dam. Rina however was complacent, her mind seemingly have broken after her defeat. Bella didn't trust it to last, but remained out of the dam's sight, just to keep the peace for the night. Thorin decided to stay camped where they were for the night, give them a chance to rest and recover. Bella was relieved, fatigue finally catching up to her. Since Rina was drugged in their wagon, Bella grabbed her bedroll and set it up under the supply wagon. She had informed Dwalin where she'd be and he'd told her that she wasn't on watch that night and to get some rest.

She crawled under the wagon and carefully maneuvered until she was laid out on top of the bed roll, her muscles aching too much to try and crawl into it. She had only been there for a moment when Fili ducked down and crawled under the wagon, making his way over to her side. He unrolled his own bedroll and carefully laid it out next to hers. He made sure that it was smoothed out completely before laying down and pulling her into his arms.

She heard him inhale deeply and then he started shaking, a fine trembling coursing through all of his body. She cuddled into his body, running her hands up and down and down his chest soothingly. She hummed an old lullaby that her mother used to sing to her. This only caused him to hold her tighter. She managed to inch her arms up until they were wrapped around his neck and wove her fingers into his hair.

He buried his face in the crook of her neck and just shook. Finally, after what had seemed like an eternity, his tremors eased and his breathing evened out. She eased back enough that she could see his face in the dim light. "Are you hurt?"

His voice was hoarse, probably from all the screaming he had done earlier, that and the roaring of rage, "Just scratches. Oin made sure that they were cleaned. You?"

She offered him a small smile, cupping his cheek and rubbing her thumb over his cheekbone, "Tiny cuts and scratches, nothing serious. I'm sorry for scaring you earlier."

This caused his hold on her to tighten again as he searched her eyes, "Why, Bella?"

"Because if I didn't stop her, there was a high chance that one of you would get hurt or killed in their blind need to kill me. There was even a high chance that they would overwhelm you and I would be helpless anyway. I wasn't going to make you possibly watch me die."

"I thought that I would, I thought that any moment you would be cut down."

She sighed, "Yavanna was watching over me. Now talk to me, tell me what is going on in your head." He hesitated and she offered him a small smile. "I don't care if it sounds crazy, I just need to know what's going on. We promised to talk, remember."

His eyes were intense and his voice about an octave or two lower than it usually was, "I want to kill Rina myself. A witch is an abomination of everything that is natural. I want to shake you so hard that your teeth rattle and tuck you into my jacket pocket over my heart so that I know where you're at and that you're safe." He reached out and gently fingered a strand of her short hair, his eyes mournful. "I see your short hair and it shames me, because it shows me how close I came to losing you."

She looked down and he nudged her chin up until she met his gaze again, "What is it, amralime?"

Her voice was whisper soft, "I'm the one who cut my hair. An orc had grabbed it and I sliced it off so I could keep going. I know that hair is very important to dwarves and I did it anyway, I'm so sorry."

He smoothed a hand over her hair and it was his turn to sooth her. "It was to escape an enemy, it was a noble sacrifice. Your hair will grow out more beautiful than ever before. The most important thing is that you're alive. I came so close to losing you, I've come close to losing you so many times during this journey. We should've never done this. You shouldn't have come along on this one, then you would've been safe."

An interesting mix of amusement and anger sparked in her, "And left you to the wiles of a witch? You would have been enchanted away from me before you even reached Moria. I know that we're Ones and that would've protected you to a certain extent, but honestly, she's strong, stronger than everything that I've ever heard about before. I'd rather be here and have gone through everything than lose you, my Fili." She reached up and brushed a light kiss over his mouth.

He sighed, the tension in him finally easing. He grudgingly admitted, "You might be right, but that doesn't make me any happier. We should've never taken this job."

She shook her head, "You can't start second guessing yourself. This was supposed to be a plum job, easy and a break for the caravan. Not to mention that it was a favor for an old friend and a dam at that. All the right components were there, do not blame yourself."

He muttered, "It was too easy a job, I should've looked deeper."

She smiled gently at him, "Love, you do check things out. I'm sure that you looked into all the whys and wherefores, even if it was just to figure out who was targeting your friend, although I have my doubts that anyone was truly targeting her. Either that or they were targeting her because she was a witch. But she's had enough of our time today. We can deal with her in the morning. Right here, right now, is about us."

He took a deep breath and ran his hand down her face. "I know, love, I know. I'm just so rattled. I wish today had never happened."

She smirked slightly at him, "And have us still be chasing our tails? At least we know now what was truly going on and no one was seriously hurt." Footsteps passed by the wagon and she startled badly. She whispered, "Are you even supposed to be under here with me? Isn't this a taboo of some sort?"

He grinned at her, "If you'd settled in a wagon, I would've had to set up guard outside. However, since you settled under a wagon and we're basically in plain sight, no one is going to carp at us. Speaking of which..." He reached up and started undoing her her courtship braid.

Her hands flew up and grabbed his, she hissed, "Fili! What in the world are you doing? I know that I scared you today, but that is no reason to reject courtship."

He gently pulled her hands down, frowning slightly, "What?" Then her words seemed to sink in and he grinned at her. "Oh no, you're not getting away from me, amralime. Not now, not ever, I'm switching it out from courtship to betrothal. After all, if I'm going to sleep with you in my arms, which I fully intend to do and I will only be drug out of here if I am dead, then there had better be visible proof of my intentions towards you or my uncle and Dwalin are most likely going to kill me."

She flushed, a most pretty shade of pink, and said softly, "Oh."

He smiled tenderly at her, "Yes, oh."

Her eyes shining up at him, her voice unsteady as she said, "Then you'd better change your braid as well, mister."

His only answer was to lean over and kiss her deeply, making her toes curl. He finally pulled back and they were both breathing hard. Suddenly she yawned then apologized profusely. He gently shushed her, "It's fine, love. We had a long day and a hard fight. Just let me get this braid done and then we can sleep, just you and me."

This time when he reached for the braid, she allowed him to undo it and then redo it in a different pattern. He then told her to tuck herself into her bedroll while he redid his own one, once they were both carefully tucked into their bedrolls, he reached over and pulled her into his arms. She yawned again and snuggled in closer. She muttered into his chest, "You have to explain it to them when they ask, not me."

He pressed a gentle kiss into her curls, "Of course, love, of course. Sleep."

Before the words had even fully left his mouth, she was already asleep. He chuckled and pressed another kiss to her curls before sighing and allowing her gentle breathing to lull him to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A couple of notes:  
> One, why did they have a trial and Thorin was the judge? In my headcannon, caravan captains/leaders are a lot like ship captains. It's up to them to pass judgement and dispense justice and punishments when they are necessary. They also wouldn't have wanted to involve the town in it, simply because it was between the caravan and the client.
> 
> Two, why would Ori's account be considered unbiased, after all, he is a member of the company? Because he is an accredited scribe. They have some sort of fancy system where scribes are trained to be completely impartial and record all the facts. It's only after they manage this that they can be accredited. And if it is ever found out that they were even the slightest bit prejudiced, they lose their accreditation forever. So Ori's record taking is impeccable. However, he also keeps a second set of journals for himself only that he scribbles all of his rants and thoughts into, especially his diatribes about how he hates Rina. Don't tell Nori, shhhh.
> 
> Third, didn't she cut her hair, why is her courtship braid still long? The courtship/betrothal/marriage braid is a long braid left hanging at the temple, so it would've been free of her main braid when she cut it off.


	6. Moria

When Bella woke, she was warm and comfortable for what seemed like the first time in forever. She snuggled deeper into the warmth as the previous day gradually came back to her. She sighed and knew that she was going to have to get up soon and face the day. It had been a kindness to her that she didn't have to stand guard duty, but they were still traveling and every person pulled their weight.

Yawning, she slowly opened her eyes only to find herself staring at a chest. She frowned, trying to piece together what was going on. The chest was obviously male. She wondered distantly why she wasn't freaking out. She pulled back and saw a glimpse of blond before the arms around her waist tightened and pulled her back in. She relaxed, realizing that she was in Fili's arms, the previous night coming back to her.

She felt her face heat up even as she cuddled back into his embrace. She breathed deeply, inhaling his scent and relaxing. She felt safe here, surrounded by his arms and scent. Safe and cherished, something that she hadn't realized that she'd been missing. Sure, things had been better since they had talked, but she still hadn't realized how stressful just going through every day had been, trying not to upset Rina, to keep everything low key, to not stress out Fili, trying to survive all of the attacks, trying to deal with their relationship when she was just so exhausted from everything else, from the doubts about why Fili would chose her, if their relationship would last, how she would hold up compared to dwarven standards. 

But the one thing that she knew was she loved this dwarf beyond all reason and she would move heaven and earth to keep them together. His even breathing told her that he was still asleep, so she told herself that it was all right for her to stay like this for just a little while longer. At first she just laid there quietly, enjoying the closeness. However, she found herself tracing the dwarven embroidery on his clothing, her fingers following the patterns lightly. She traced over the shirt and then down his sleeves as far as she could go. It was only to about the elbow where he still had her tucked tightly in his arms.

She paused there for a moment, listening to his steady heartbeat. When he didn't stir, she traced back up his arm. However, this time she traced up his neck instead of going back to his chest. She pulled back a little so she could see his face. He looked so peaceful, his breathing even. The early morning sun played gently over him, making him look more relaxed, the stress lines of late gone.

She traced up his neck, allowing her hand to linger at the junction of his neck and jaw, feeling the strength there. Then she traced over his jawline, enjoying the feel of his short beard under her fingers. She ran her thumb once, twice, thrice over his lips before moving on to trace his mustache braid. She let her fingertips linger on the bead, feeling the carvings and design that she had no idea what they meant, they were always too busy for her to remember to ask. She then traced his nose, straight and rather regal looking. She brushed her fingertips softly, ever so softly, over his closed eyes. Those eyes of blue that made her feel so warm and loved, that could be either serious or merry, that looked at her with such tenderness at some times and with heat and longing at other times. Finally, she smoothed his eyebrow before coming back and cupping his face, her thumb stroking over his cheekbone. How in the world had she ever managed to catch the eye of such a handsome man?

A small smile quirked the corners of his mouth and he lazily opened his eyes. He said softly, "I could get used to waking up like this."

She pulled back her hand and he pouted slightly. She said just as softly, "How long have you been awake?"

He studied her face closely before drifting back to her eyes, "Since you tried to pull away the first time."

She raised an eyebrow at him, "And you didn't tell me, why?"

His expression turned mischievous, "And miss having your hands on me while I held you in my arms? Not a chance."

She just rolled her eyes at him, only the smallest twinges of embarrassment flaring up before it swiftly faded away. 

He leaned forward and gently rested his forehead on hers, giving her a tender smile. His voice dropped, deepening slightly in a way that sent pleasant tremors through her. "Good morning, beautiful."

She couldn't help her own smile as she whispered back, "Good morning, love. Sleep well?"

He dropped a kiss of the tip of her nose, "I haven't slept so well in years. You?"

"I slept deeply, I haven't felt so safe and cherished for a long time." She moved forward enough to brush her lips over his.

They traded lazy kisses back and forth, no urgency or heat, just a sweet sharing and bonding, the intimacy soothing both of them. Finally they pulled back when they heard the rest of the caravan stirring. She rested her forehead against his and murmured, "I don't want to get up. I want to just want to stay here with you."

He smiled, smoothing a strand of hair away from her face. "I know, love, me too. But we just have to get her to Moria. Then we can go back and get wed. I want to spend the rest of my life waking up with you in my arms."

She smiled at him, "I could live with that." He kissed her again, this one having a little more heat than the one before. Finally she pulled back and sighed, "We'd better get up before Kili or Dwalin decide to get us up."

He sighed too and obediently pulled back, releasing her reluctantly. He crawled out of his bedroll and moved away from her, running his hand through his hair and yawning. She slowly did the same, muscles twinging at her and reminding her of the fight the day before. She stretched, letting out a groan. Fili said worriedly, "Are you all right?"

She flashed him a brief smile, "Just sore, other than my hair, I came out pretty much unscathed." She huffed a lock of hair out of her eyes. "I don't suppose you can do anything about this?"

Fili crawled out from under the wagon and she did the same. He sat down cross legged and gestured for her to sit in his lap. She did as he asked and he turned her until she was facing away from him. He pulled out a comb and started working it through her short curls. When she sighed, he soothed, "It'll grow, love, it'll grow."

She let out a small laugh, "I used to keep my hair shorter than this voluntarily. I don't know why it's bothering me so much now."

He pressed a kiss to the crown of her head. "That's because you've been around dwarves for a while now and we're funny about our hair. But don't worry, your hair is a sign of valor and it will grow."

Kili came over with two mugs of coffee at that moment. He handed them each one, clucking as he circled Bella, looking at her hair. He asked Fili quietly, "What are you thinking?"

They were off, talking about braids and styles, all of it foreign to Bella. She sipped at her coffee, waiting for the moment that Kili realized. She knew the moment he did, his sentence dying off midway. He moved around and leaned in close to look, but did not touch. When he finished his examination, he straightened back up, a huge grin growing across his face. "Congratulations, you two. I'm so happy for you, nadad, namad. Amad will be too, although I think Dwalin won the betting pool." 

Bella thought about asking what he meant, but decided that she didn't want to know. "Thank you, nadad. Think you can help Fili with my hair or am I better off just trimming it up and letting it grow on it's own."

Both of them let out scandalized sounds at that idea. She rolled her eyes and lapsed into silence, letting them work. The other dwarves drifted by, a couple of them offering suggestions but most just checking on her and Fili, making sure that they were ok. She unequivocally shot down all of Nori's suggestions, knowing that the dwarf was mostly just messing with her in his own way. By Kili's smothered chuckles, she knew that this was the case.

Finally Fili settled on a few small braids to keep her hair out of her face and resigned himself to letting it grow out a little more before doing anything else to it. She offered her hand to Kili and he helped her up. She asked quietly, "How's Rina?"

Kili scowled, "She's still asleep, but she woke up a few times in the night. I think her mind has snapped, truthfully."

Bella raised an eyebrow, "What makes you think that?"

Kili rolled his eyes, "She was ranting and raving, but about the oddest things. About how Fili is her prince charming and how he needs to realize that she's his true love. As soon as you're out of the way, he'll definitely fall for her. How that if he'd never met you and you hadn't enchanted him with your witchcraft, then he would be hers now. Lots of rambling about spells and enemies and how she would defeat you. Also complaining about invisible beasties and whatnot. Then she'll stare off into the distance while kinda almost drooling."

Bella snorted, "Yeah, I enchanted him with my bad moods and inability to function without coffee. Not to mention my total inability to fight at first and a flash fire temper."

Kili chuckled, "Not to mention your unnatural love for mushrooms and odd plants."

Fili had climbed to his feet and wrapped an arm around her waist, "I find you charming no matter what, especially that time that you managed to take Kili down with his own weapon."

Both Bella and Kili blushed furiously at this. Bella muttered, "I told you that that was an accident." at the same time that Kili protested, "She cheated and she couldn't do it again if she tried."

Before Fili could pounce on that particular statement, Bella said firmly, "I am not even going to try again. I am much too sore, am starving, and have a witch, literally, to deal with. How far are we from Moria?"

Both of the brothers sobered at this grim reminder. Fili thought the question over carefully, "Another week, I think, at the most."

Bella sighed, "Well, we'll just have to make the best of it. C'mon, I'm sure that Bombur has made breakfast by now."

When they arrived at the fire pit however, they were surprised to find a visitor sitting there calmly. Bella grinned and called, "Gandalf."

The wizard stood and Bella threw herself into his arms for a hug. "What are you doing in this part of the world, Gandalf?"

He chuckled down at her, "Checking on hobbits and dwarves. That and I've felt something dark and disturbing following your path lately. I apologize for being late, but other matters kept me away."

She laughed, "Didn't you tell me that a wizard is never late but always arrives exactly when he means to?" She shrugged, "As for the darkness, seems like we have a witch problem, but we seem to have it under control for the moment."

He scowled at that, "A witch? What unnaturalness is this?"

She said, "Hasn't Thorin filled you in yet?"

He shook his head, "My dear, I arrived just before you walked up. We've barely exchanged pleasantries."

Bella nodded decisively, "Well then, join us for breakfast and we'll share the tale of our travels of late. Truthfully, your advice on the matter would be most welcome."

So they ate and Bella and various dwarves shared all that had happened since they had started on their journey, little things at first that had taken on a more sinister cast in light of later events all the way up to the attack the night before. Breakfast had been finished some time before and Gandalf had pulled out his pipe and was smoking thoughtfully.

Finally, he sighed and tapped out his pipe, stowing it back away in his robes, "I'd better investigate this matter. Take me to see this, Rina, that you speak of."

Bella said quietly, "It would be best if someone else took you. She does not respond well to my presence at all."

Gandalf looked even more thoughtful at that. "Very well, but I would like to see that as well. I will examine her and then call for you and see what her behavior is as well."

Fili started to protest but the wizard just chuckled, "Don't fret, young prince. She'll be perfectly safe with me, you have my word."

It was Balin who ended up taking Gandalf over to see Rina while the rest of them started on simple maintenance that the caravan always needed. Bella noticed that Dwalin looked rather smug as the others grumbling handed him money pouches when they noticed their new braids, but she also saw him draw Fili aside and speak to him seriously. Fili looked both amused, chastised, and defiant all at once. When Dwalin finally stopped talking, Fili only said a few sentences, but whatever they were, they made Dwalin roar with laughter and clap him on the shoulder with a proud smile on his face.

When Thorin sat down next to her, Bella braced herself for the same talking to that Fili was getting from Dwalin. Instead, Thorin said quietly, his eyes warm, "Welcome to the family, Bella. Fili couldn't find a finer partner. I'm sorry for all the stress this journey had put the both of you under, but it has pleased me to see how solid your relationship is, even under pressure. I look forward to the privilege of calling you niece very soon. I shall be sending Dis a letter later today, by raven, if you would like to include a note?"

Bella felt her heart warm immeasurably at this. There had been times on that first caravan that she had despaired of ever getting Thorin's good opinion. To know that he thought so highly of her now warmed her. "I love Fili, you never have to worry about that. And I'm so privileged to be invited into your incredible family. I would love to send her a brief note."

He nodded and moved away and Bella was left slightly puzzled but very happy. Ori came and fetched Fili. They were gone for only a couple of minutes when they returned and Ori told Bella that it was her turn to see Rina. Bella sighed but obediently followed the scribe. Things happened pretty much as Bella expected. Rina lost her mind as soon as she saw Bella, saying the most horrible things. Bella just stood there silently, doing her best to tune out the woman's vitriol. After a couple of minutes passed, Gandalf sent them away and told Ori to bring Fili back.

This time they were gone longer, but Bella didn't hear any shouting or screaming, so she forced herself to keep her mind on the bit of harness that she was repairing. After all, the last thing that they needed was a dicey strap simply because her mind was elsewhere. Her attention was abruptly jerked back to the present when Fili came storming over, Kili hot on his heels. Fili took the strap that she was working on and shoved it into Kili's hands before pulling her gently to her feet and dragging her away from the others. 

They didn't go far, only into the woods a little bit, but he kept going until they were out of sight and nearly out of earshot. Then he released her and shoved his hand through his hair. He muttered, "That woman is foul! And to think that I once thought of her as a friend."

Bella went and wrapped her arms around him, laying her head on his chest and listening to his thundering heartbeat. His arms came firmly around her and he clutched her almost desperately to him, as if he was trying to protect her from something. She didn't protest, simply settled herself more comfortably into his arms, humming soothingly. Finally his heart calmed and resumed it's usual steady rhythm.

Sensing that he had relaxed as much as he was going to, she asked, "What did she say that upset you so badly?"

He tensed again at that. "Horrible, horrible, foul things. I'm not going to repeat them. But it made my blood run cold and I wanted to strike her down where she stood. She is a threat to you and I won't be happy until she is dead."

She ran her hand soothingly up and down his back before pulling back far enough that she could loop her arms around his neck. Weaving her fingers into his hair, she pulled him down into a firm kiss, pouring all the love and reassurance that she could into it. His kiss was almost desperate and she wondered just what Rina had said that had upset him so badly before dismissing it as unimportant. Instead, she kept her kiss gentle and reassuring, trying to recenter him, restore his inner balance.

He pulled away slightly and her lips followed his. He took a quick breath before kissing her again, this time it was gentle and warm and she could feel him relaxing into her embrace. Before it could become heated, as much as she wanted it, this was a time for reassurance, not lust, she pulled away from him. He allowed it reluctantly, resting his forehead on hers. Her eyes searched his and found that his distress had eased and he was calm again.

He grumbled quietly, "Kissing me will not solve all of our problems, you know?"

She teased, "Oh, so you don't want kisses then."

He chuckled and breathed, "Minx." Before capturing her lips again. This time, the kiss was playful and light, a reaffirmation that they were in this together. After just a few moments, he pulled back and tucked her into his chest again. With a sigh, he asked, "What would I do without you, Bella love?"

She smiled, "Well, you'd get less kisses for one. However, your sanity might be in better shape."

He shook his head firmly, "Never. I'd lose my mind every day if I didn't have you in my life. I didn't know what I was missing until you burst into my life and brought color into it."

She grumbled, "Sweet talker." and enjoyed the silent laugh that rumbled through him.

After a couple of minutes, she pulled back enough that she could meet his eyes. "Shouldn't we head back?"

He sighed, "If we must. I just want to be married to you all ready. Do you want to elope?" He offered her a roguish smirk.

She laughed and shook her head no. "No, for three reasons. One. Even if we were married, we would still have tasks to oversee, that wouldn't change. Two. When we are married, I want at least a month alone with you. I will not spend my honeymoon with no privacy in the middle of a caravan of friends, family, and possibly strangers. Three. I am not telling your mother that I married her eldest son without her present simply because he was impatient. I like your mother, but she can be a scary woman sometimes."

Fili sighed but reluctantly agreed, knowing all too well how his amad would react to his spontaneous marriage. Releasing her, he wove their hands together and they walked slowly and silently back to camp. When they reentered camp, she was surprised to see Gandalf puffing furiously on his pipe, his expression outraged and he was muttering angrily under his breath. She called, "Gandalf?"

He looked up and started to snap something, only to stop abruptly when he saw her concerned face. Observing them more closely, his expression softened when he saw their closeness and linked hands. He sighed and admitted, "Rarely have I ever dealt with a creature as foul as that woman. She is insane and utterly without remorse. The things that she said were truly disturbing."

Bella gently squeezed Fili's hand before slipping hers free and making her way over to him. She smiled at the wizard who suddenly looked so weary and old. "Yes, that may be true. But there is also good in this world as well, Gandalf. I lost my family because of a raid, but if I hadn't, I wouldn't have met my new family. If Rina hadn't tried to come between me and Fili, who knows how long it would've taken to work out the weak spots in our relationship. But we have decided that the other is worth fighting for and we are getting married once we return home. You are invited of course, it wouldn't be a celebration without you. But first we have to deal with this situation. We are going to deliver her to Moria, as she hired us to do. Everything has been well documented, without prejudice, so we will turn her along with all of the evidence to the ruler of Moria when we arrive. If you cannot ride with us, we would appreciate it you would at least write a report of your findings. However, if you can spare a week, we would appreciate you accompanying us. For your word is must trusted amongst Arda, even if some do not like the unpleasant truths that you sometimes speak."

Gandalf wrinkled his brow in thought. "I had better make the time to accompany you. I do not like the things that she has said and it would put my mind much at ease if I am with you." Suddenly, all of what she said seemed to sink in and he beamed at her and Fili, "And of course I would love to come to your wedding. I might even make up some of my fireworks. It's been too long since I've had such an excellent reason to celebrate."

Bella nodded, "It's settled then. Just a week until Moria and then we can be done with this mess."

Gandalf relaxed and took another pull of his pipe. "I am curious about one thing, Bella. How did you stop her? A witch this powerful is hard to stop once she's gotten her spells going."

Bella giggled, "I've been around Dwalin too long, as a matter of fact. I settled for a straightforward means of subduing her. I simply punched her, hard. If nothing else, her antics have given me plenty of training opportunities."

Gandalf roared at that while Dwalin mock pouted before joining in. Thorin allowed them a few minutes of laughter before ordering them to pack up and move out. After all, the sooner they could get to Moria, the better.

* * *

The week passed surprisingly quickly, now that they weren't looking over their shoulders every other minute or having to deal with attacks aimed at Bella. Gandalf kept Rina in an enchanted sleep, for which they were all thankful. Still, the mood of the caravan remained quiet and watchful and Bella imagined that it would remain that way until they reached Moria and Rina was effectively dealt with. 

Since they hadn't been attacked again, Bella and Fili were not permitted to sleep together any more and Bella found herself plagued by nightmares. She was doing her best to conceal it, but it was growing more apparent that she was exhausted by the day. It was Kili who broached the subject with her the day before they were to arrive at Moria. He brought her coffee and invited her to take a walk with him. She was too tired to see the trap and agreed.

As they strolled along the length of the caravan, Kili said quietly, "What's going on, Bella?"

She yawned widely and took another sip of her coffee. She asked tiredly, "What do you mean?"

"You've got dark circles under your eyes, you're barely eating, and you almost fell asleep while riding yesterday. Did you and Fili have an argument or something?"

She rolled her eyes at him, "Why do you automatically assume that Fili and I are having problems? Didn't you ask him?"

"No. I figured that it was between the two of you. But besides him being hyper-vigilant, he seems to be fine. You on the other hand, seem to be going to pieces. I want to know if I have to knock some sense into his head on your behalf."

She smiled at him, "I always wanted a brother to look after me, it's quite a nice feeling. Thank you for your worries. But no, it's nothing that Fili or anyone has done. I'm just not sleeping well. Nightmares. My subconscious is working overtime. I've had this problem since I was a faunt. I would always worry about the worst possible outcome and then it would roll over into my sleeping hours and come to vivid life. It just happens when I'm stressed."

He frowned at that, "Is there anything we can do to help? Maybe sleeping herbs? Have you talked to Fili about it? When was the last time you got a good night's sleep?"

She shook her head, "I've tried sleeping herbs, several times. All that it ever did was just lock me into the nightmare so that I couldn't wake up. No, I haven't talked to Fili about it because there is literally nothing that he can do about it and he's under enough stress as it is. Once we deliver Rina, the nightmares should stop, I just have to hang on for another few days. As for the last time I had a good night's sleep? It was after the fight, when Fili and I were able to cuddle. I felt safe and protected. Since that's not an option, I just have to suck it up. It'll be ok, Kee. It's just a few more days and short sleep never killed anyone."

He frowned, trying to figure out the best course of action. All of what she said had been valid points, but he hated to see the tiny lass he adored like a sister suffering. Right then, they heard the warning horn call that meant that they'd be moving out in just a few minutes, so they turned and headed back towards the fire pit. She tried to pull herself together but she still felt Kili watching her closely throughout the day. She also saw Kili talking closely with Fili a couple of times and was praying that he wasn't telling him exactly what was going on, but she had the feeling that he was.

After dinner, her suspicions were proven to be correct. Fili sat and leaned against a wheel of one of the wagons that made up the perimeter of the sheltered space near the fire. He then pulled her down and settled her comfortably in his lap. When she protested, he just urged her to lay her head on his shoulder and rest her eyes. He said quietly enough that the others wouldn't hear. "Get some rest love. I have second watch, so this is the best that I can do, but at least you can get a little sleep while I keep guard."

Her eyes closed against her will but she muttered, "That means that you'll be exhausted tomorrow."

He rubbed gentle circles on her back, "I can afford to lose a little sleep. You cannot. Get some rest, you are safe and I'm here."

By the time he finished speaking, she was already asleep. When Dwalin looked like he was going to say something, Kili quickly drew him aside and explained the situation to the burly guard captain. Dwalin scowled when he learned that Bella had once again kept things from them, but when Kili explained what she had said, even Dwalin had to agree with her reasoning. He had also recognized the land that they had been passing over, so he knew that they would be arriving at Moria the next day. That would hopefully allow the lass to get some rest as well.

* * *

Bella had never been so happy to see a place in her life. They arrived at Moria shortly before mid-morning. Rina had become insufferably smug over the past day, as if she'd known something that they hadn't. However, it was all in her head, whatever she had been waiting for never appeared. All of the evidence plus Gandalf's testimony was sufficient. By noon she was sentenced and by sunset she was dead. Bella made herself watch the execution. She prayed for the young dam that Rina had once been before she somehow had traveled down such a dark road. And she prayed that Rina found peace in the halls. She had no idea what had driven her down that road, but she felt only pity for the dam.

They had been offered rooms to rest in during their stay at one of the best inns in Moria. After the execution, Bella made her way to her room and proceeded to pass out for the next eighteen hours. When she finally woke up, she found notes from a couple of dwarves that had checked on her and information on where they'd be. Finally rested, she took a long bath, allowing the hot water to work the tension out of her knotted muscles. Only when the water had cooled did she manage to pull herself out of the bath. Dressing in a deep teal dress, she sighed as she tried to find a way to deal with her hair. The shorter hair dried much faster but left curls springing in every direction. Not to mention that she did not yet know how to do the betrothal braid. She could not go out like this, she would shame Fili if she did.

She sorted through the notes that had been left, but none of them bore his signature. So she had no idea where he was and whether or not she could send a runner for him. Right then, there was a rap on the door. Making her way over, she rested one hand on the knob and the other on the wood of the door. She called quietly, "Who's there?"

Fili's voice called back, "It's me, amralime. I had the feeling that you would be awake now."

She opened the door to find his standing on the other side of the door, cleaned up and rested, dressed in a tunic that somehow matched her dress and carrying a loaded tray. She allowed him in and he carefully set the tray on the dresser. Once he set the tray down and turned back towards her, she looped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a hungry kiss. They kissed hungrily for several minutes before Fili had to pull back or lose all of his honor. It order to give him a moment to compose himself and cool the burning in her own blood, she moved over to the window and peeked out. It seemed to be late afternoon, early evening judging by the traffic on the street, workers making their way home for the night, families shopping together in the market.

Finally, Fili came over and wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder, murmuring, "Hi."

Feeling inexplicably shy, she turned her head to look at him and whispered back, "Hello."

He rubbed her nose with his own before reluctantly pulling back and urging her towards the dresser. "I'm sure that you must be starving and while you eat, I can help you set your hair to rights."

She sat and started eating obediently. As he worked on getting her hair in order, he asked casually, "I'm not complaining, but why such an enthusiastic greeting, dear heart?"

She met his eyes in the mirror. "I feel like we haven't had time to ourselves in ages without some sort of threat hanging over us. And what few moments we managed to steal was tainted by urgency or tension, something or another always hanging over our heads. I'm just happy to be with you, the man I love, without anything coming between us for once."

He smiled at her, his eyes dark with hunger and promises of the future. "I'm happy to be with you as well, but we're going to have to go stroll through the market or something, although we don't have to bring the company. Because you refuse to elope with me, it's not honorable for it to be just the two of us alone. But soon, ghivashel, soon."

A heated shiver traced through her and her own expression heated. But she just said softly, "Well then, you'd better hurry with my hair then before I throw common sense out the window and elope with you, despite my excellent reasons not to."

He sighed and his fingers tightened in her hair momentarily before relaxing and keeping arranging it, pulling more and more hair pins out of one of his endless pockets. Finally he had it arranged as best as he could with her shorter hair. She had finished her tray, so he offered her his hand and pulled her up. She wanted to allow him to pull her all the way into his arms and kiss him senseless, but common sense reasserted itself and she stopped as soon as she was stable, stepping away from him to fetch a shawl that went well with her dress.

He let her go, a knowing smile on his face, but she noticed that he didn't protest either. Instead, he just offered her his arm and hurried them out of her room. Once they were in the hallway, he relaxed slightly. They found several of the other caravan members relaxing in the common area. They all relaxed to see her well rested and cheerful once again. When they informed them that they they were going to the market, Ori and Kili decided to tag along, which led to Dwalin joining their group, declaring that someone with sense needed to keep an eye on the group.

Bella had grinned widely at that. He had always kept an eye out for her, even that first trip when she had been so lost and clumsy. Squeezing Fili's arm, she released his arm and went over and snagged Dwalin's. "I'm glad that you're coming along, irak'adad. They're much too much for me to keep an eye alone." All four dwarves stared at her in shock but she just grinned at them. Yes, she knew exactly what she was doing, and yes, she wasn't going to take it back.

Tugging on his arm to keep them moving, she explained just loud enough for the others to hear, "Dwalin, you've been my protector since the very start, watched out for me and kept me from being eaten. You taught me survival craft and guided me through the first steps of my dance with blades. You've watched my back against foes and stood many watches through long nights with me. You've opened your home to me. You also crafted my first blade. If that doesn't make us kin, I don't know what does."

He still looked poleaxed, but there was a glimmer of happiness and contentment in his expression as well, "If you're offering to be my iraknatha, I'd be a Mahal cursed fool to turn you down, mizimith."

She smiled up at him and went to her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "There, that's all settled then. Now, let's go explore the market. I've heard much about the markets of Moria and I'm dying to see them for myself."

With a happy smile, she released his arm and skipped back over to Fili who was watching her with a warm expression, happiness fairly glowing off of him.

Dwalin followed along behind them, shaking his head in bewilderment until laughter welled up in him and he couldn't contain the happy chuckles that escaped him. Only Bella. Balin and Thorin chose that moment to join the party from a side road. Thorin looked at him oddly, but Dwalin just ignored him. Was it really odd to see him happy?

Balin smiled at him, "Keeping an eye on the youngsters, brother?"

Dwalin nodded, absently adjusting grasper so that it was situated better. It was starting to slide a little, he'd need to inspect the leather of the sheath. "Aye, someone's gotta keep an eye on our iraknatha."

Thorin gaped at him and Dwalin laughed, reaching over and pushing his longtime friend's mouth shut.

Balin grinned up at him, "Finally worked up the courage to ask ye, did she?"

Dwalin nodded, "Aye, although why she ever thought that I'd turn her down is beyond me."

Balin shrugged, "Dam's minds are ever different from ours. But it's good to see her happy without those dark circles under her eyes. This has been one hell of a trip, nadad."

Dwalin grumbled, "Glad it's done. Never thought I'd ever run into a real witch."

Thorin scowled at that, "I don't know how we ever missed the signs of that. Although, I must admit, the run of luck we had on this trip was one of the worst that I'd ever seen. I should have known that something was up."

Bella skipped back to the three, "None of that now, everything worked out well, even if it was a bit fraught at times. But my uncles should be enjoying the day, not fretting."

It was Thorin and Balin's turn to stutter while Dwalin beamed broadly at being called uncle. She rolled her eyes, dwarves were ridiculous, hobbits were much more sensible. She said firmly, "If Dwalin is my uncle, then you most certainly are as well, Balin. And since I'm going to marry Fili, you're going to be my uncle by marriage, Thorin. Although truthfully, I think of all of you as family, just so you know."

Kili called her and she went skipping back up to join the younger dwarves in browsing the stands. All three of the older dwarves just stared at each other before starting after her. Thorin mumbled, "Every time I think that I've got her all figured out, she does or says something that throws everything out of whack again."

Dwalin grinned and slapped him on the shoulder, "Just give up trying to understand and go with it. It's easier that way. Besides, with Rina gone, things should be easier now."

Balin chuckled and Dwalin laughed as well at Thorin's disgruntlement. Thorin rolled his eyes but allowed his foul humor to fade, relieved that things had reached an even keel and that things would be better. He knew that Dis would be ecstatic that there would finally be a wedding, she'd been hoping for it since she'd first seen the two together, bickering like cats and dogs over something. Catching sight of Fili and Bella, he realized something and groaned. When Dwalin looked at him inquisitively, Thorin nodded to where Bella and Fili were flirting brightly, "Rina may be gone, but we still have to get those two back to Ered Luin. I am not telling Dis that they eloped, are you?"

The brothers both groaned and it was Thorin's turn to chuckle. If they had to deal with this, at least they'd all suffer equally. Hopefully the trip back would be quicker and less fraught with danger. He'd almost rather have to face all of their enemies again then deal with a betrothed couple. He sighed as he remembered the headaches that chaperoning Dis and Vili had given him. Well, at least he had that as a bargaining chip if they should end up eloping.

* * *

Bella glanced back to check on Dwalin, Balin, and Thorin, her arm looped through Fili's as they strolled through the market. Stifling a giggle, she murmured, "Should I ask why all three of them are glaring at us?"

He shrugged unconcernedly, although his eyes were sparkling with mischief, "No idea, probably just concerned about the trip home or something."

She frowned up at him, "Then why would they be glaring at us?"

Before he could answer, or more likely make something up, she saw Gandalf and dragged Fili over to where the wizard was examining a stall. She called happily, "Gandalf!"

Looking up, he smiled brightly at her, "Bella, good to see you. I was going to come by the inn later and bid you farewell."

She offered him a crooked smile, "My mother used to tell me stories about you, you know, but whenever I asked where you were, she would always say that you were off doing wizard things. 'He'll take you on the best adventures, Bella love, but then he'll be off again at the drop of a hat. Always busy that one, never has time to stop and appreciate the good things in life, like elevensies. However, remember this, without him, I have the feeling that things would be a lot let good. Much like a cat that one, comes and goes as he pleases, but appreciates your companionship nonetheless.'" 

She dug into her pocket and dug out a small pouch, "A very wise woman was my mother. I figured that you would be off soon. However, I appreciate your friendship as well, so I got this for you."

He took the pouch curiously, humor and nostalgia in his eyes, "Belladonna Took was one of the most unusual hobbit that I have ever had the privilege to met and well as one of the brightest, most charming woman that I've ever known. You are a great deal like her, you know, although I still see traces of your father in you as well." He opened the pouch and grinned, "Longbottom Leaf, precisely what I was in need of. My thanks, Bella."

She grinned up at him, "Welcome. You will be there for the wedding, won't you?"

He smiled down at her, "I wouldn't miss it for anything. When will it be?"

Bella thought for a moment, then laughed, "You know, I actually have no idea. Fili?"

Fili thought hard for a moment before nodding, "If it's agreeable to you amralime, in three to four months time. Two months to travel back, then another few weeks for the wedding prep and to allow guest to arrive."

Bella beamed happily at him before turning her attention back to Gandalf, "Three months, Gandalf. I'll be very disappointed if you're not there, unless you have a really, really good reason."

He rested his hand on her curls for a moment and warmth coursed through her. However, both his hand and the sensation were gone before she could work out what had happened. He smiled warmly at her, "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

He bowed to Thorin and the others who had just joined them before walking away, chuckling to himself. Thorin asked quietly, "What was that all about?"

Before they could answer, the sound of a quiet ting caught there attention. As the dwarves looked around frowning, Bella was casting around on the ground for something. Kili asked, "What are you looking for?"

She frowned, "A hairpin, didn't you hear it fall?"

Right then, a second hairpin fell and she saw where it went this time. Her frown deepened, one loose hairpin she could understand, but two? Before she could say anything, Fili's hand shot out and caught a third pin before it could hit the ground. Opening his hand, he stared at it in bewilderment.

Understanding dawned on her and she barked at Fili, "Hold out your hand." Reaching up into her hair, she started frantically pulling out hairpins and dropping them into his open hand. Dwalin joined her and they managed to swiftly pull out all of the pins, although a few still freed themselves and went flying. By the time they got all the pins free, her hair was already to her shoulders and still growing. All of the dwarves were watching her wide eyed while she was just praying that it wouldn't keep growing too far. However, when it reached the length that it had been when she'd cut it, it stopped abruptly.

They all stood there looking at each other, rather shell shocked by the unexpected turn of events. Suddenly, Bella started giggling madly and the rest joined in moments later. When they finally managed to compose themselves, Bella shook out her curls and rolled her eyes, although she couldn't contain her happy grin, "Only Gandalf."

Dwalin grumbled, "Tharkun always was dramatic. Come on, let's get back to the inn. We'll be leaving in a day or two and you still have dark circles under your eyes."

She nodded, looping her arm through his as they made their way back towards the inn, chattering about all the things that she wanted to see before they left Moria. It was so nice to have kin again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter left - The Wedding!


	7. Happily Ever After

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All the feels, squeeeeee!

Bella ran down the hall, calling over her shoulder at Kili who was chasing after her, "No, I'm done, the wedding is off. Fili can just go marry someone else, I'm through with all of this nonsense. Good luck and I wish you all the best."

Bolting into her room, she slammed the door behind her and locked it, ignoring Kili's pleas for her to stop, for her to please listen. Knowing that she only had a couple of minutes, she made her way over to the window and pushed it open, glancing down. Yes, she was on the second floor, but it was doable. She might be a little winded from the fall, but she would survive. It would give her just enough time to get away.

Muttering under her breath and praying that she didn't regret this, she sat on the window ledge then swiveled and jumped out. To her surprise, instead of hitting the hard ground, she was caught by a pair of strong arms. She looked up in shock to find Nori grinning down at her, "Ah, right on time. I figured that they'd drive you batty right about now." Setting her down, he urged, "Come on, we've only got a minute until they realize that you've gone out the window."

She scampered after him, grateful that he was helping her escape instead of throwing her back to the wolves. They managed to cover enough ground to be out of sight when she heard the commotion, people calling to spread out and find her. Nori just smirked and picked up his pace, leading her out of town. She was starting to get a stitch in her side when he finally came to a stop in a pretty little clearing.

He laughed, "Go ahead and sit, they won't think to look out here, you're safe."

Collapsing onto a convenient fallen log, she fought to catch her breath. "Thank Yavanna, I would've never managed to escape on my own."

He grinned and offered her a water skin which she accepted gratefully, "I must admit, I expected you to run weeks ago, you're tougher than I thought."

She groused, "You probably bet on it, didn't you?"

He nodded cheerfully, "Aye, that I did. Lost a fair bit of money on it too."

She quirked an eyebrow at him, "Then why did you help me out, if I cost you?"

He winked at her, "I couldn't leave you to suffer that alone. Most I've managed at a time is a week of Dori's fussing. You've managed three as well as several others fussing at you as well. I'm impressed. However, I'd better be getting back and help search for you, otherwise they'll be suspicious. There's a picnic basket in that hollow log there and a stream just behind those trees. You should be set until I come back and fetch you."

Before she could answer, he saluted her cheekily and was gone. Bella let out a sigh of relief, allowing herself to relax for the first time in days. When she'd agreed to marry Fili, she hadn't realized the full extent of what she had been signing herself up for. Needless to say, she was in way, way over her head. Knowing that Nori wouldn't have left her anywhere dangerous, she stood and made her way over to where a patch of sunlight filtered warmly through the trees. Stretching out on the ground in the sunlight, she sighed happily, soaking up the silence. This was what she had been missing, what she needed. She was so tired of people talking at her from the moment that she woke up to the moment she went to sleep, of having to make a million and one decisions, of barely even having a few moments to talk with Fili every day, if that.

Yes, she would miss Fili, but the peace and quiet were definitely worth it. She had almost drifted off to sleep when she heard the quiet crunch of footsteps. With a groan, she mumbled, "Go away." She couldn't believe that Nori had cracked and given away her hiding place already.

There was a familiar quiet chuckle and she opened her eyes just in time to see Fili stretch out next to her on the ground in the sunshine. He reached over and captured her hand, weaving theirs together, while pillowing his head on his other arm, his face turned up and his eyes closed as he drank in the sunshine. She huffed a sigh but allowed him to keep her hand.

After several minutes of comfortable silence, he asked laughingly, "Did you really tell Kee that I can just marry someone else and wish him luck?"

She tightened her grip on his hand as she replied blandly, "Yep, the wedding is off. Your family has officially driven me stark, raving, crazy. Better luck next time?" 

He laughed, turning his head so he could meet her eyes, "So what pushed you over the edge and made you think that jumping out of a second story window was a good idea? And are you hurt, that was a pretty long fall. I just assumed when you weren't found, that you were all right."

She couldn't help the twinkle of mischief in her eyes, "I'm fine, Nori actually caught me and helped me get away. As for the final straw? Dori wants to alter the dress yet again, your mother was fussing over what my hairstyle should be for the umpteenth time, and your awful brother took the last tea cake. That tea cake was going to be reward for making it through the next fifteen minutes of the fussing. I can't take this anymore, I just wanted a simple wedding with our friends and family, not this nightmare that this has become."

He lifted their entwined hands and pressed a kiss to the back of hers. "I shall make sure to pound Kili for his errors later, you have my word." He sighed and ran his thumb soothingly over the back of her hand, "I'm sorry that you are so stressed, love. They're just all so excited and happy for us. I should've stepped in days ago and put my foot down and stopped all of this craziness."

She sighed, relaxing under his gentle touch, "It's not that, it's just..."

He scooted closer to her so he could reach out with his free hand and smooth a curl from her temple, "Just what, love?"

She allowed the frustration that she was feeling to show on her face, "We never get to see each other anymore for more than a moment too. I miss you, Fili. I mean, I know that there are strict protocols, but how hard would it be to allow them to let us alone and talk in peace for five minutes? Even when we're together, there's always someone there, interrupting us. At this point, I just be happy to sit with you in silence, not have to make any more decisions. I'm exhausted, love. There's no reprieve from the fussing from sunup to sundown."

Sighing, he arranged them until they were cuddled together, her head pillowed on her shoulder. "I know, I'm sorry. It'll be over soon. Meanwhile, it's quiet and you don't have to make any decisions, so why don't we just enjoy the sunshine and rest?"

She hummed quietly in agreement, feeling herself finally relaxing. She murmured, closing her eyes and enjoying their closeness, "All right, but if you expect me to go back, you'd better have a good bribe."

He laughed quietly, carding his hand through her hair, "I'm sure that we can work something out."

They remained like that for the rest of the afternoon, sometimes talking quietly and other times just dozing lightly. It was just edging towards evening when Dwalin located them. He grumbled, "There you two are. The whole town has been looking for you."

Bella grumbled and buried her face in Fili's shoulder, muttering, "I don't wanna go back, Dwalin."

He just walked over and held out his hand. She groaned but took it, allowing him to pull her easily to her feet. She pulled up her best pleading expression, "I don't suppose that I could convince you to forget that you ever saw me?"

He laughed at that and she pouted, obviously she needed to work on her pleading expression, "Iraknatha, you know that you still want to marry him, no matter what you said otherwise. However, if you truly wanna run away from the lad, I'll help you in a heartbeat."

She pretended to contemplate it and Fili called, "Hey!"

Both of them laughed at Fili's outraged expression before she sighed and admitted, "You're right, I do. If a witch couldn't tear us apart, I suppose that a little bit of wedding planning shouldn't either. But I am going to use you as a shield if they bother me much more."

They walked slowly back to the house, chatting quietly about anything except the wedding. Dwalin even turned a blind eye to them holding hands, a small favor that she really appreciated. When they reached the house, she sighed deeply and squeezed Fili's hand tightly, before releasing it and making her way reluctantly inside. As she expected, Dis was waiting for them in the front room, her expression a mixture of disappointment and resigned. She just shook her head and said quietly, "Go get cleaned up, both of you, I'll speak with you both later."

Feeling guilty, Bella quickly pressed a kiss to Fili's cheek before disappearing upstairs to do as she was told. Once she was gone, Dis's expression morphed into a determined expression, although there was a hint of mischief as well, "Does she suspect?"

Fili shook his head, "No, not a thing. I'm going to go get cleaned up and changed. Tell Kili good work with the tea cake, that was the final straw."

Dis laughed at that, "The tea cake was what pushed her over the edge? Goodness, she's made of sterner stuff than I thought if she could endure both myself and Dori being purposefully obnoxious. Now scat, you need to hurry."

Dis gave Bella a few minutes to get cleaned up before following her upstairs. Knocking on the door, she waited until she heard Bella call for her to enter. She was surprised to find that Bella was already cleaned up, perched on her bed in her shift as she carefully rewove her betrothal braid, her curls still slightly damp. She sat on the bed next to the hobbit lass, offering her a wry expression, "I know that this is stressful, but you only have to hold on for a little while longer. I remember how stressful it was when I was waiting to get married to Vili. There were many days when I wanted to run away as well."

Bella sighed, clipping the bead into place, "I understand how important this is to everyone, amad, I really do. But I miss spending time with Fili. I want to marry him because I love him, all the rest is just extra finery. I would be happy to marry him in traveling leathers, covered in road grime, as long as our friends and family are there to celebrate with us."

Dis pulled her into a hug, "I know, love, I know. And I'm happy that my son has found such an exceptional woman to love. So I'll make you a deal. Let's finish this final fitting of the wedding gown and then you can have the rest of the evening off from wedding planning, you have my word."

* * * 

Relieved that Dis wasn't going to scold her for running away earlier and knowing that she wasn't going to get a better offer, Bella agreed reluctantly, not looking forward to having to stand still while Dori poked and prodded her yet again. Standing, she made her way over to her wardrobe, noticing that it was empty except for her wedding dress. She set it aside as a matter for later as she carefully slipped the dress over her head, allowing it to settle comfortably on her frame.

She had to admit that the dress was a work of art, simple yet gorgeous at the same time, with all of the delicate embroidery all over it. It seemed to fit like a dream and she told Dis, "I don't see what Dori needs to adjust, it's already perfect."

Dis smiled at her, "He just wants to make sure that it looks perfect, you know how detail oriented he is. Now, sit over here while I do your hair and makeup, he wants to see the full effect before he'll accept that it's perfect."

Bella sat in front of the vanity, allowing Dis to gently comb out her hair. She offered the dam a crooked smile in the mirror, tears pricking at her eyes, "I'd almost forgotten, my mother used to brush my hair and we'd talk about anything and everything. I've missed that."

Dis smiled back at her, her eyes soft, "I always wanted a lass so we could do that. Maybe we can do this again sometime, although I have the feeling that I'll have to fight with Fili for the privilege." She reached for Bella's braid and hesitated, "This should really be unbound, to show that you come to the marriage with no entanglements."

Bella shook her head no, "But I am entangled, I am promised to him and he is promised to me."

Dis sighed but obediently left it alone. Instead, she moved around and started doing Bella's makeup. Starting to feel like she was missing something obvious, Bella protested quietly, "Are you sure that this is really necessary? It's just a fitting?"

Dis ignored the questioning tone and nodded firmly, "Yes, quite necessary. Everything has to be perfect, you know. A woman only gets married once, after all. There, all done, take a look."

Bella looked in the mirror, her eyes widening as she took in her reflection, "I look..."

Dis smiled at her, tears pricking her own eyes, "Beautiful, the word that you are looking for is beautiful." She took a deep breath, taking firm hold of her emotions, "Let me go make sure that Fili is safely out of the way and then we can go show Dori and be done with this." She pressed a kiss to Bella's forehead, "I know that your mother can't be here for all of this, but I know that she is truly happy for you and wants only your happiness. I offer my blessing in her place, may you always be happy and healthy, weather the storms of life together as they come, find safety and comfort with the other, and may you have many years of love and laughter in your life, no matter how hard things get."

She slipped away and Bella valiantly fought back tears, not wanting to mess up the make up that Dis had just so carefully done. She turned her attention back to the mirror and carefully studied her reflection. If she looked, she could see her parents in her face, her eyes the same shade as her father's and the smile and dimple just like her mother's. She knew that they would've loved Fili, even as they teased him unmercifully. And Dis was right, they would've just wanted her to be happy. 

Turning her thoughts away, she really would start weeping if she kept thinking about them, she turned her thoughts to revenge on Kili for taking the last cake. She turned several plans over in her mind before she realized that Dis had been gone for a long time. She stood and was debating cautiously looking for her when the dam swept back into the room, out of breath.

She grabbed Bella's arm and quickly led her from the room, "Sorry about that, a few things took a little longer than I anticipated. We need to hurry."

Bella noticed that Dis had changed into a fancy gown as well, but wasn't able to ask as Dis was towing her gently through the house too quickly. They paused at the front door and Dis poked her head outside, looking around carefully, before declaring that the coast was clear. Bella's instincts were clamoring that something was going on increased to a full roar when Dis turned left instead of right at the turn that would've taken then to Dori's house/shop, instead leading them towards where the town square was. She protested, "Amad, what in the world are you doing? We're going the wrong way, someone's going to see me like this and get the wrong idea."

They turned another corner and there was Dwalin and Kili waiting for them, both of them dressed to the nines. She turned a wide eyed glance on Dis and Dis beamed at her, "Surprise, sweetheart."

Kili came over and draped her flower bridal crown carefully over her curls before pressing a kiss to her forehead, "Congratulations, namad, you deserve every happiness." He tugged lightly on her betrothal braid and she swatted his hand away, "Fili insisted upon keeping his as well, said that you'd be wearing yours, I didn't believe him but he was right."

She frowned up at him, but couldn't help the happiness coursing through her, "How long have all of you been planning this?"

He smiled and handed her a bouquet of tiger lilies, " A few days now, ever since your eye started twitching any time anyone asked you a wedding question. We were just waiting for Gandalf to arrive before we put it into motion. I thought that I was going to have to do something truly terrible to get you to run away so we could get this all set up. However, we thought that you would just lock yourself in your room for a few hours, not literally jump out of a window. Please don't do that again."

She hugged him tightly, smirking slightly, "That was a miscalculation on your part, wasn't it? I love you, you horrible brother, so I'll forgive you this once."

He gently tapped their foreheads together and then Dis pulled her into a tight hug. Then Kili offered his mother his arm and they swept away to get seated so that the ceremony could start. Bella turned and walked over to where Dwalin was waiting patiently, his hair painstakingly groomed and his clothes neat and new. She reached out and adjusted his collar, beaming tearfully up at him, "You look wonderful, irakadad."

He grumbled slightly, "Don't expect this sort of thing every day, this is only for tonight." He studied her and his expression softened, warmth and pride entering his eyes, "You look beautiful, lass. Fili's a lucky dwarf."

She replied softly, "I'm lucky to have found such a wonderful new family. I've been blessed."

Right then, they heard the first few strains of the bridal music. Dwalin muttered, "Thank Mahal, I'm going to turn into a proper watering pot if you keep this up." Offering her his arm, he murmured, "Are you ready for this?"S

he slipped her arm through his, carefully smoothing down her gown, "I'm ready."

They turned the corner and her breath was taken away. The square had been transformed into a veritable fairy tale. Tiny, delicate lanterns had been strung all around the square, flickering almost like fireflies and giving the square an enchanted feel to it. Benches had been brought out and were filled with their friends and family, decorated with delicate gauzy material that fluttered lightly in the cool evening breeze. These benches created an aisle that had been strewn with flower petals leading up to an elaborate metal wrought arch that had been woven with flowers.

She couldn't contain her gasp when she saw Fili standing there, waiting for her. His hair was unbraided except for his betrothal braid, a flower crown perched proudly on his head. He stood straight and proud, dressed in a bright Durin blue outfit that was covered with intricate embroidery. But it was his expression that took her breath away, his gaze filled with such love, adoration, and awe that it filled her with warmth and love.

Dwalin started leading her down the aisle and she left that in his capable hands, unable to take her eyes off of Fili's. Before she knew it, they were at the end of the aisle and Thorin asked, "Who gives this woman away today?"

Bella wrenched her eyes away from Fili, having not even registered Thorin's presence until he'd spoken. Dwalin rumbled, "Her kin and I do." Turning, he bent down and pressed his forehead gently to hers, before passing her hand over to Fili. He growled quietly, "You'd better treat her well, lad."

The audience just chuckled at this, although Fili nodded firmly. Dwalin moved away reluctantly before going and sitting down beside Balin. Fili turned and led her carefully back over in front of Thorin. He murmured softly, "You look beautiful."

She said just as softly, "You look amazing as well."

Thorin cleared his throat in amusement and they reluctantly turned their attention to him. The ceremony was brief but poignant as they exchanged vows. A tear slipped from her eye as he slipped her ring on her finger, but he just smiled warmly at her and brushed it away, knowing that it was a happy tear. She couldn't contain the happiness flowing though her as she slipped on his ring, squeezing his hand tightly. Then Fili rewove both of their braids into marriage ones. Bella breathed, "Finally."

Fili agreed emphatically and Thorin chuckled at that. Once Fili had clipped the bead into place, Thorin said, "I now declare you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride!"

Fili slipped his hand under her chin and tipped her head back, pressing their foreheads together briefly before swooping in and giving her a chaste kiss. As he pulled back, he murmured, "Later."

She sighed but smiled at him, knowing that they had all the time in the world now. Pulling back, she became abruptly aware of the cheers and catcalls of the others. She flushed slightly but didn't move away from Fili, instead, she laced their hands together firmly. Beaming at them, Thorin said, "I now present, Mr. and Mrs. Fili Durin. Let's celebrate!"

They were swamped with well wishers while others quickly started setting up tables and bringing out food. The only time that she let go of Fili's hand was when Gandalf appeared and she hugged him, "You made it."

He hugged her back gently, "I promised that I would. Your parents would be very proud and happy for you, Belladonna Baggins."

She smiled cheekily at him as she corrected gently, "Belladonna Durin."

He beamed down at her, "Ah yes, that's right, Belladonna Durin. May all happiness be yours."

She grinned at him, "Thank you, Gandalf."

With a promise to catch up later, she rejoined Fili who was waiting alone to lead her over to the waiting head table. Seeing that his crown had slipped slightly, she straightened it and murmured, "There you are, husband."

He sucked in a breath at this before breaking out into a wide grin, "Thank you, wife. Hungry?"

Warmth stole through her and she smiled shyly at him, "That sounds good."

The meal was a merry one, filled with laughter and stories and best wishes. Then once the meal was over, the music started up as well as the dancing. Fili and Bella were permitted the first dance and then Bella was whisked off by the various members of the company, all of them gently teasing her as well as wishing her well. The stars were shining brightly and it was growing quite late when Fili managed to snag her for another dance. Thankfully it was a slow one, allowing her to catch her breath.

He grumbled, "It's our wedding, they should all stop stealing my wife from me."

She giggled, "Let them have their fun, Fee, they're all just happy for us." Vili and Dis danced past them, happy expressions on their face as they murmured quietly to one another. Bella smiled, leaning her head on his shoulder, "Look at how happy your parents are. I want to be as happy as they are when we've been married that long."

He smiled and was about to steal a kiss when a roar came from one of the tables where Frerin and Dwalin were having a drinking contest. Fili sighed before grinning down at her mischievously, "What do you say that we find someplace a little quieter, Mrs. Durin?"

Her smile was just as mischievous, "Well, your mother did promise that I wouldn't have to do any more wedding planning tonight. I think that it sounds like an excellent plan, Mr. Durin."

They reached the edge of the dance space and as another round of cheers and raucous laughter sounded from the drinking challenge, they took the opportunity to slip away unnoticed. Strolling hand in hand, Fili led her down a different road than she was expecting before finally pausing in front of a house that was a street over from where his parent's house was.

"We're here, love."

She stared at him, "What is this, Fili?"

He smiled down tenderly at her, opening the door without looking at it, "This is our new home, why do you think I've been so busy lately. You'll still need to decorate, but it's all ours. I know that your father built Bag End for your mother and I wanted to do something similar."

She threw her arms around his neck, kissing him passionately. "Fili! I had no idea. You didn't have to do this!"

He stole kisses in between his words, "I wanted to, love." 

Picking her up, he carried her over the threshold, "Welcome home, love."

Bella kissed him, nudging the door firmly shut with her foot. Yes, she was finally home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that you enjoyed this. Leave me a comment and let me know what you thought.
> 
> As always, stay safe and be careful in these crazy times. Praying for health for you and yours!
> 
> Bella's ring, her's is the one with the knotwork and the emeralds set into the band, not the one with the jewels sticking up
> 
> https://www.shanore.com/celtic-wedding-band-ladies-emerald-and-diamond-set-product-414.html

**Author's Note:**

> I will be trying to update my various stories every day or two. Also, if you are writing your own stories, drop me a comment and tell me what you're writing. Stories are what hold us together in times like these :)


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